Valmiera (; german: link=no, Wolmar; pl, Wolmar see other names) is the largest city of the historical

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in ...

region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020 – 24 879. It is a state city the seat of Valmiera Municipality. Valmiera lies at the crossroads of several important roads, to the north-east from Riga, the capital of Latvia, and south of the border with

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. Valmiera lies on both banks of the

Gauja The Gauja River ( et, Koiva jõgi, german: Livländische Aa) is a river in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It is the only large river of Latvia that begins and ends its flow in Latvia. Its length is 460 km, of which 93.5 km (approxim ...

River.

Names and etymology

The name was derived from the

Old German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

given name or the

Slavic name Given names originating from the Slavic languages are most common in Slavic countries. The main types of Slavic names: * Two-basic names, often ending in mir/měr (''Ostromir/měr'', ''Tihomir/měr'', '' Němir/měr''), *voldъ (''Vsevolod'', ...

. The town may have been named after the

kniaz , or (Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependin ...

of the

Principality of Pskov The Pskov Land (russian: Псковская земля, Pskovskaya zemlya) was a historical region in the north-west of the medieval Russia centred around the city of Pskov. It was a vassal state of various Rus' states and had a measure of independe ...

Vladimir Mstislavich who became a vassal of

Albert of Riga Albert of Riga or Albert of Livonia or Albrecht (german: Albert von Buxthoeven, lv, Alberts fon Buksthēvdens; c.1165 – 17 January 1229) was the third Bishop of Riga in Livonia. In 1201 he allegedly founded Riga, the modern capital of Latv ...

in 1212 and for a short time was a vogt of

Tālava Tālava was a Latgalian country in the northern Vidzeme and northern Latgale region of today's Latvia. It was bordered by the Latgalian Principality of Jersika to the south, the Livonian counties of Metsepole and Idumeja to the west, the Estonian ...

, Ydumea and Autīne. Another version, it may have been named after the King of Denmark

Valdemar II Valdemar (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious (), was the King of Denmark (being Valdemar II) from 1202 until his death in 1241. Background He was the second son of King Valdemar I of Denmark and Soph ...

who allied with the

Livonian Brothers of the Sword The Livonian Brothers of the Sword ( la, Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae, german: Schwertbrüderorden) was a Catholic military order established in 1202 during the Livonian Crusade by Albert, the third bishop of Riga (or possibly by Theoderi ...

Livonian Crusade The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – in what is now Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal -sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was cond ...

. In the second half of 13th century Livonian Order built a castle which they called in German. During the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) was the Russian invasion of Old Livonia, and the prolonged series of military conflicts that followed, in which Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) unsuccessfully fought for control of the region (pr ...

the town was known in Russian as (), but during the period of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

it was known as (Wolmar).

History

Valmiera and its surroundings have been one of the longest-inhabited regions of Latvia. Archeological evidence indicates the site was inhabited 9,000 years ago. In 1224 after partition of

trade roads along the

river became property of

who erected a castle which is today known as Valmiera Castle. After the

Battle of Saule The Battle of Saule ( lt, Saulės mūšis / Šiaulių mūšis; german: Schlacht von Schaulen; lv, Saules kauja) was fought on 22 September 1236, between the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and pagan troops of Samogitians and Semigallians. Betwe ...

in 1236

Valmiera Castle Valmiera Castle ( lv, Valmieras pils, german: Schloß Wolmar) was a castle in Valmiera, Latvia. Today its ruins lie in the city centre. History The medieval castle was built on the site of an old Latgalian fortification during the 13th century ...

and nearby lands became the property of the newly established Livonian Order. Valmiera was first mentioned as a town in a chronicle dating back to 1323. The actual founding of the town probably occurred at least 40 years earlier when the master of the Livonian Order Wilken von Endorp constructed a castle (''Wolmar'') and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church on the banks of the river Gauja. Valmiera was a member of the Hanseatic League from the 14th–16th centuries. Involvement in the Hansa brought significant trade and movement into the town's life. During the 14th–16th centuries several regional assemblies (

landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non ...

s) were held in Valmiera. After the

in 1583 Valmiera was heavily devastated and was incorporated into the

Duchy of Livonia The Duchy of Livonia ( or ; lt, Livonijos kunigaikštystė; la, Ducatus Ultradunensis; et, Liivimaa hertsogkond; lv, Pārdaugavas hercogiste; german: Herzogtum Livland), also referred to as Polish Livonia or Livonia ( pl, link=no, Inflanty) ...

as part of

Wenden Voivodeship Wenden Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wendeńskie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Duchy of Livonia, part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was formed in 1598 by King Sigismund III Vasa, out of Wenden ...

. After the Polish-Swedish war in 1622 Valmiera was managed by the

Lord High Chancellor of Sweden The Lord High Chancellor ( sv, Rikskansler), literally ''Chancellor of the Realm'', was a prominent and influential office in Sweden, from 1538 until 1799, excluding periods when the office was out of use. The office holder was a member of the Priv ...

Axel Oxenstierna. View of Valmiera by Johans Kristofs Broce in 1795

During the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

Valmiera was again destroyed and burned down in 1702. It was further devastated by plague. During the first half of the 18th century Valmiera was on the decline. In 1738 M.E. von Hallart opened the first seminary of the

Moravian Church , image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States , main_classification = Proto-Prot ...

in Valmiera, a movement which played an important role in the history of Vidzeme. In 1785 Valmiera became the centre of a district. The town saw rapid development in the 19th century. First it was stimulated by the building of the first bridge over the river Gauja in 1865. Later the building of the Riga-St.Petersburg railway line through the town in 1899 also played a major role. Many new factories were built in the town and new settlements were growing on both banks of the river Gauja. During 1911–12 a narrow gauge railway line

Ainaži Ainaži (pronounced ; et, Heinaste) is a port town in Limbaži Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. The town is located near the Estonian border on the site of an ancient Livonian fishing village. Before 1917, it was known by its Ge ...

-Valmiera-

Smiltene Smiltene () is a town in the Vidzeme region in northern Latvia, 132 km northeast of the capital Riga, and the administrative centre of Smiltene Municipality. It has a population of 5,536 (2015). Name Its original name was Smiltesele (the end ...

was built thus making Valmiera a major transport hub. In 1906 Municipal elections were held and Valmiera was one of the few towns in Latvia where Latvians won the majority of seats (18 of 24). As a result, local doctor Georgs Apinis was elected as mayor. During the first quarter of the 20th century Valmiera also became a centre of culture and education as many schools were opened in the town. Among them were the Vidzeme teachers seminary, women gymnasium and merchant school. During

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 opposing ...

, Valmiera was captured by troops of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...

on 4 July 1941 and placed under the administration of Reichskommissariat Ostland. In October 1941, 209 Jews from Valmiera and surrounding areas were murdered in local forests. The city was recaptured on 24 September 1944 by troops of the 3rd Baltic Front of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

during the Riga Offensive. During the war almost all buildings at the center of Valmiera were destroyed. The Cold War Liepas Air Base was located nearby. Version 2.2 of the open source mapping application

QGIS QGIS is a free and open-source cross-platform desktop geographic information system (GIS) application that supports viewing, editing, printing, and analysis of geospatial data. Functionality QGIS functions as geographic information system (GIS ...

was named in honor of Valmiera.

Development

Valmiera's municipality has been involved a variety of projects to improve the quality of life in the region. ;Projects implemented lately * Reconstruction of Valmiera Pārgauja State Gymnasium * Reconstruction of Valmiera Viestura Secondary school * Dwelling house of various social groups * Pedestrian track and watch terrace * Construction of Māris Štrombergs BMX track “Valmiera” * Construction of Valmiera Western Industrial highway * Co-creation workshop “DARE” * Reconstruction of Jānis Daliņš Stadium and construction of light athletics hall * Valmiera Old Town development – Ziloņu Street * Hybrid buses in the city * Construction of woodchip boiler house ;Ongoing projects * Dormitory for pupils * Valmiera Old Town development – Valmiera Palace cultural center * Recreational and playground areas * Two electric buses in the city *Construction of Valmiera Southern Industrial highway * Career Development Support Program * Renovation of Valmiera Drama Theater Valmiera is an important industrial centre. The dominating economic branches in Valmiera are the food industry,

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

production,

metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scal ...

wood processing Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing. The major wood pro ...

and furniture production. TOP 5 companies by turnover (Lursoft, 2018) * “Valmieras Glass Group” JSC * Cooperative “VAKS” * "Valmieras piens" JSC * “Dizozols”, Ltd * Cooperative society of agricultural service dairy farmers “PIENA LOĢISTIKA”

Education

A full cycle education is provided in Valmiera – starting from pre-schools until higher education and lifelong education institutions. City provides full-range of education: * 8 Kindergartens * 2 Primary Schools * 4 Secondary Schools, including special education for disabled children * 2 State Gymnasiums * Valmiera Music School * Valmiera Sports School * Valmiera Youth Centre "Vinda" * Valmiera School of Design and Art * Valmiera Vocational Education and Training School * Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences * Lifelong learning In the academic year 2019/2020, 1625 children attended preschool educational institutions in Valmiera and 4084 students attended general education institutions. The local government invests significantly into the development of the educational infrastructure. More than 50% of Valmiera annual budget is spent on a development of education in the city. In Year 2016 Valmiera was included in UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (UNESCO GNLC). Its aim is to jointly seek for solutions to globalization, urbanization, demographics and other 21st century urban development challenges.

Culture

Valmiera ordulinnuse varemed hilisõhtul 05

;Culture facilities in Valmiera * Valmiera Drama Theatre * Valmiera Culture centre * Cinema "3D CINEMA" (kino "Gaisma") * Concert hall "Valmiera" * Valmiera Integrated library * Valmiera Museum * Art „Gallery Laipa” * Gallery „Leduspagrabs” ;Festivals and annual events in Valmiera * International Winter Music Festival * International competition for young pianists * Valmiera Summer Theatre Festival * Valmiera City Festival * Simjūds’ Fair * Summer concerts by the Valmiera Music School * cinema festival "Kino Pedālis" * Art month of Valmiera * etc.

Sports

In Valmiera, sports and an active lifestyle have historically been one of the city's main priorities. Over 40 sports organisations operate in Valmiera representing more than 30 different sports. The Valmiera Children's Sports School with over 1,200 pupils is the fourth biggest sports school in Latvia. In the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles,

Jānis Daliņš Jānis Daliņš (5 November 1904 – 11 June 1978) was a Latvian race walker. Competing in the 50 km event he won a silver medal at the 1932 Olympics, becoming the first Latvian to win an Olympic medal. He also won the 1934 European title and ...

won a silver medal – the first ever Olympic medal won by Latvia. In honour of the athlete's achievements, in 1938 Valmiera Stadium was named after Jānis Daliņš. Many Olympians have come from Valmiera including BMX riders Ivo Lakučs, Edžus Treimanis,

Rihards Veide Rihards Veide (born 1 November 1991) is a Latvian BMX racer. He qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, finishing in 7th place in the final. Veide has won the bronze medal at 2011 European Championships. He was born in Valmiera, Latv ...

and a two-time Olympic champion

Māris Štrombergs Māris Štrombergs (born 10 March 1987) is a Latvian former professional BMX racer. In the 2008 Summer Olympics he became the first Olympic champion in BMX cycling. Earlier that year he won the 2008 UCI BMX World Championships. In 2012 he p ...

. In turn, Jolanta Dukure,

Arnis Rumbenieks Arnis Rumbenieks (born 4 April 1988) is a Latvian track and field athlete competing in road walking. Rumbenieks has competed at 2010 European Championships. At the 2012 International Road Walking Festival in Alytus, Lithuania he finished second b ...

and Aigars Fadējevs are race walkers, whose sporting roots can be found in Valmiera, as is the case with the initial sporting careers of bobsleigh racers

Oskars Ķibermanis Oskars Ķibermanis (born 4 April 1993) is a Latvian bobsledder. He competed at the FIBT World Championships 2013 The FIBT World Championships 2013 took place at the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun in St. Moritz, Switzerland for the record tw ...

and

Oskars Melbārdis Oskars Melbārdis (born 16 February 1988) is a former Latvian bobsledder who has competed since 2006. He is the most successful bobsledder in the history of his country, having won one gold and two bronze Olympic medals. He also earned the first- ...

. Biggest sports teams: * Valmiera Basketball Club – 2015/2016 Latvian Basketball League Champions * Valmiera Floorball Club – 2017/2018 Floorball Latvia League runners-up * Valmiera Football Club – finished 4th in the 2019 Latvian Higher Football League * Valmiera Glass ViA – competing in

Latvian-Estonian Basketball League The Latvian-Estonian Basketball League is the highest professional men's club basketball league in Latvia and Estonia; it has been organised since 2018, run by the Latvian Basketball Association and the Estonian Basketball Association. History ...

Extensive sports infrastructure is available in Valmiera, including Jānis Daliņš’ Stadium, Māris Štrombergs’ BMX "Valmiera" track, the Vidzeme Olympic Centre, "Krāces" rowing base, Valmiera Swimming Pool and outdoor running and Nordic walking tracks. Annually, the biggest sports events held in the city are as follows: * the State President's Athletics Competition * Valmiera Marathon * MTB Marathon * “Rīga-Valmiera” Running and Walking Race * Latvian Open Floorball Tournament * the European Championship Qualification Games in Men's Handball The biggest sport events to be held in Valmiera are: * 2011 FIBA Basketball World Championship U-19 Junior Sub-Group Games * 2014 Davis Cup Group Ties in Tennis * 2018 IFF World Championship Men's Floorball Qualification Tournament * BMX European Championships 2019

Twin towns – sister cities

Valmiera is twinned with: *

Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of the ...

, Sweden (1991) *

Viljandi Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu. ...

, Estonia (1992) *

Gütersloh (district) Gütersloh () is a Kreis (district) in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Osnabrück, Herford, district-free Bielefeld, Lippe, Paderborn, Soest and Warendorf. History It was created in 1973 in the reorga ...

, Germany (1994) * Høje-Taastrup, Denmark (1995) *

Zduńska Wola Zduńska Wola is a city in central Poland with 40,730 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of Zduńska Wola County in the Łódź Voivodeship. The city was once one of the largest cloth, linen and cotton weaving centres in Poland and is the birthp ...

, Poland (2001) * Pskov, Russia (2002) *

Barysaw Barysaw ( be, Барысаў, ) or Borisov (russian: Борисов, ) is a city in Belarus near the Berezina River in the Minsk Region 74 km north-east from Minsk. Its population is around 145,000. History Barysaw is first mentioned in t ...

, Belarus (2010) * Halle, Germany (2011) *

Siyazan Siyazan ( az, Siyəzən; Tat language (Caucasus), Tat: ''Siyəzən'') is a city, municipality and the capital of the Siyazan District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 24,900. The city's name is said to be derived from Persian language, Persi ...

, Azerbaijan (2014) *

Vallefoglia Vallefoglia is a ''comune'' in the province of Pesaro and Urbino, in the Italian region Marche, created in 2014 from the merger of the communes of Colbordolo and Sant'Angelo in Lizzola, after 76,3% of the population approved the unification in ...

, Italy (2016) *

Cherkasy Cherkasy ( uk, Черка́си, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy is the capital of Cherkasy Oblast ( province), as well as the administrative center of Cherkasky Raion (district) within the oblast. The city has a population of C ...

, Ukraine (2022)

Gallery

Bridge over Gauja river.JPG, Bridge over Gauja river Rigas Iela, summer 2013.JPG, Riga street in the city centre Valmiera muuseum.JPG, Valmiera city museum Valmiera Old Pharmacy in Castle ruins.JPG, Castle ruins Valmiera railway station 2.JPG, Railway station Valmiera Sv Simana baznica.jpg, St. Simon Lutheran church

Notable people

* Velta Ruke-Dravina (1917–2003), Latvian-born Swedish linguist, folklorist, professor *

Dāvis Bertāns Dāvis Bertāns (born 12 November 1992) is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed the "Latvian Laser", he also represents the Latvian national team. He was the 4 ...

(1992–), basketball player in NBA *

Dairis Bertāns Dairis Bertāns (born September 9, 1989) is a Latvian professional basketball player for Real Betis of the Spanish Liga ACB. Bertāns also plays for the Latvia national basketball team. He is the older brother of Dāvis Bertāns. Professional c ...

(1989–), former basketball player in NBA *

Arturs Maskats Arturs Maskats (born 20 December 1957 in Valmiera) is a Latvian composer and since 1996 artistic director of the Latvian National Opera. His orchestral composition, ''Tango'', received international exposure as one of the finalist works of the th ...

(1957–), composer.

References

{{Authority control Cities in Latvia Republican cities of Latvia Castles of the Teutonic Knights Valmiera Municipality Kreis Wolmar Vidzeme