Tērvete (liv. ''Terwenden'', german: Hofzumberge) is a village in

Tērvete Parish Tērvete Parish ( lv, Tērvetes pagasts) is an administrative unit of Dobele Municipality in the Semigallia region of Latvia. At the beginning of 2014, the population of the parish was 2009. The administrative center is Zelmeņi village. Town ...

Dobele Municipality Dobele Municipality ( lv, Dobeles novads) is a municipality in the historical region of Zemgale, and the Zemgale Planning Region in Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Dobele town and the Annenieki, Auri, Bērze, Biksti, Do ...

in the

Semigallia Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, ( lv, Zemgale; german: Semgallen; lt, Žiemgala; pl, Semigalia; liv, Zemgāl) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located in the south of the Daugava river and the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. ...

region of

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 is famous for the historic

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

built for the kings of Western

(Zemgale) in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

History

According to popular legend the Semigallian king

Nameisis {{Infobox monarch , name = Nameisis , title = Duke of Semigallia , image = , caption = Nameisis by Artūras Slapšys (2013) , reign = 1270s – 1281 , coronation = , predecessor = , success ...

made a ring called the "namejs" so he could be identified by his family. But his enemies got hold of this information and sought the ring to kill the king (during a war) to have victories. The villagers also created these rings in order to protect the King. And for this reason Namejs is a popular ring for Latvians. In 1287, the Semigallian castle was destroyed by the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after the ...

. In 1335, the wooden castle ''Hof zum Berg'' Kalnamuiža was built by the Order of Livonia near to the site of the former Semigallian fortifications, destroyed by the

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n forces in 1345. A second legend describes the story of the German crusaders slowly moving into Latvian territory in the Middle Ages, taking over tribe after tribe. Namejs, the Semigallian king, was the last to subdue to the crusaders' power. Namejs and his people left their land and went south into Lithuanian territory. Namejs didn't want his people to forget their heritage and their origins and had the

Namejs Ring The Namejs ring ( lv, Nameja gredzens) is a traditional Latvian ring which represents Latvian independence, friendship and trust, and symbolizes the unity of three ancient Latvian lands – Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme, Latgale and Vidzeme. ...

designed for all of his people so that they could identify each other and have a common bond. Now it is a popular ring amongst Latvians that live outside of Latvia because it shows their love for Latvia and recognition of their heritage.

Archaeological excavations

In 1819, K. F. Watson declared the hillfort on right bank of Tērvete river to be the site of the legendary Tērvete castle described in chronicles from the Middle Ages. The hillfort was excavated by August Bielenstein between 1866 and 1892. The expedition of the Latvian Museum of History led by E. Brīvkalne carried out excavations in 1952–53 and 1954–59.

Tērvete Air Base

Tērvete is also the site of an

airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

, located east of Kalnamuiža. It is a minor airfield, probably used during World War II. It appears on American

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

Operational Navigation Charts from the 1980s, it was an even field suitable for plane landing/takeoff in case of eventual war.

References

External links

about Hofcumberge (in Polish)
in the

Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavic Countries ( pl, Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich) is a monumental Polish gazetteer, published 1880–1902 in Warsaw Warsaw ( pl ...

Latvian airbases 13th century in Latvia Castles of the Livonian Order Dobele Municipality Doblen County Semigallia {{Zemgale-geo-stub