Rundēni parish ( lv, Rundēnu pagasts) is located in southwest

Ludza District Ludza District ( lv, Ludzas rajons) was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Latgale region, in the country's east. Districts were eliminated during the administrative-territorial reform in 2009. Towns of Ludza District *Kārsava ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. It borders on the Pildas, Nirza, Lauderu and Istras parishes of the Ludza District; the Škaunes and Ezernieku parishes of the

Krāslava District Krāslava District ( lv, Krāslavas rajons) was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Latgale region, in the country's east. It was organized into two cities and twenty three parishes, each with a local government authority. The main c ...

; and the Kaunatas parish of Rezekne District. It is a distance of 33 km from the village of Rundēni at the parish centre up to District centre -

Ludza Ludza (; pl, Lucyn, german: Ludsen, russian: Лудза, ''Ludza'') is a town in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia. Ludza is the oldest town in Latvia and this is commemorated by a key in its coat of arms. Ludza is the administrative centre o ...

. Up to

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, the capital city of Latvia, it is 315 km.

Population and national structure

In the Census of 2000, from a population of 800, there were 231 residents of Latvian nationality, 522 Russians, and 23 Belarusians.

Landscape

Rundēni parish is located on the height of

Latgale Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While m ...

. Most of the parish is covered by the hills of Razna, and in the south-east by hills of

Dagda The Dagda (Old Irish: ''In Dagda,'' ga, An Daghdha, ) is an important god in Irish mythology. One of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dagda is portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia' ...

. The highest part of Rundēni parish is the northern part, which forms a

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

between the rivers

Daugava , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

and

Velikaya The Velikaya () is a river in Novosokolnichesky, Pustoshkinsky, Sebezhsky, Opochetsky, Pushkinogorsky, Ostrovsky, Palkinsky, and Pskovsky Districts of Pskov Oblast, as well as in the city of Pskov in Russia. It is a major tributary of Lak ...

(basin of Lake Pskov). The western part of the parish is close to the

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

of Lielais Liepukalns. The highest hills are Pentjušu Hill, and hills to the north at Kovaļiški, Sūnupļava and Rudzīši. The biggest lake is

Lake Bižas A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the World Ocean, oce ...

. Smaller lakes include Bezersļesjes, Aunejas, Testečkovas, Kazeņa and Rudzīšu. The Saryanka River, a tributary of the Daugava, flows through the parish. Other small rivers of the parish are the Kazeņa, Siņica, Volčica, Vonogupīte.

Villages and populated places

The centre of the parish is the village of Rundēni. Other populated places include: * Adelinova * Barsuki * Bezlesje * Bļižņeva * Bori * Bojari * Briževa * Bubinova * Čuhnova * Dvorišče * Devjatņiki * Drozdovka * Dzenegaļi * Gorodoks * Greidani * Griņkova * Homutova * Kabilovka * Kazeņa * Kazici * Kannova * Kļeščeva * Klumstova * Kovaļiški * Ksaverina * Labunščina * Lielā Maļinovka * Lisova * Loborži * Losiški * Mazkrinica * Maļinovka * Mačuļi * Mežavēpri * Nalogi * Noviņi * Noviydvors * Opši * Osova * Ostrova * Pakalni * Pentjuši * Pereļji * Pešleva * Posiški * Punculova * Pušča * Rocova * Rudzīši * Ruleva * Rusecki * Sarja * Savina * Stankeviči * Strukaļi * Sūnupļava * Tarčilova * Tartaks * Tereneva * Testečkova * Škorlupova * Yačmenišče * Vertulova * Zamostje * Zarečje * Zirgi * Zubova * Žubuļi Stankevichi

History

Early in its history, the parish included the manors Rundēni, Viktorinavas un Bišu and smaller half-manors Zuranpole, Čuhnova, and Lielā Kriņņica un Zaķu. During an agrarian reform, the manors were divided into land lots. The Pakalnu manor house is a private property, its architectural style is neo-romanticism and park of Rundēni manor. Until 1938 there were schools: in Ruleva, Drozdovka, Rudzīši, Pakalni, Vertulova and Rundēni. In 1939, the Rundēni secondary school was constructed. In 1920-1930, a rural community, some companies are formed: agricultural, credit-savings and cattle breeding. There were two flour mills, a dairy, twelve grocery shops, two bakeries, shop of wine and vodka, and also a shop and manufacturer and leather products. During the Soviet era, the state farm at Rundēni was the largest in

Showplaces

Places of worship

*The Roman Catholic Church of Christ's Ascension in Rundēni *The Orthodox Church of Birth of Our Lady in Vertulova *The Orthodox Old Believers’ Church Chapels: Bližņeva and Bori.

Protected archaeological and cultural monuments

Natural monuments

The Bull-stone in Kazici is a big, ancient cult stone of the Baltic tribes. long, wide and tall. The Bull-stone may have served to designate an ancient border. According to local legends, when the stone is touched it will take away ailments and give energy.

Rundēni Devil’s Pits Rundēni or Rundāni is a village in Rundēni Parish, Ludza Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia. It is the center of Rundēni Parish. In the village converge roads from six villages Zirgi, Kaunata, Lauderi, Vecsloboda, Raypole and Sapo ...

is a natural monument covering at

Height of Latgale Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is). For example, "The height of that building is 50 m" or "The height of an airplane in-flight is abou ...

, north-east of Rundēni near the Rundēni-Lauderi road. Since 1997, the Devil's Pits are a protected geomorphological object and are unique in the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

. There are five pits of an unknown origin; one is filled with water and the others with raspberry bushes. The pits may have been caused by a

meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...

or may be

karstic Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

formations.

Sculptural monuments and installations

*The Hill of Crosses Hill of Crosses, part 3.1 *Memorial complex in Sūnupļava The memorial ensemble was created in memory of eleven heroes of different nationalities from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, on Height of Sūnupļava (Height 144). It is on the side of the Rundēni-Lauderi road. The memorial ensemble is created from greater boulders (author A. Dripe).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rundeni parish Parishes of Latvia Ludza Municipality