Ērgļi, piemineklis represētajiem 2001-06-02 - panoramio

Ērgļi is a small town in

Ērgļi Parish Ērgļi Parish ( lv, Ērgļu pagasts) is an administrative unit of Madona Municipality in the Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is ...

Madona Municipality Madona Municipality ( lv, Madonas novads) is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The administrative center is Madona. The total area of the municipality is , and the population in January 2013 was 26,953.Madona municipality Population Register Of ...

in the

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 of Latvia on the banks of the

Ogre An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...

river. It serves as the administrative center for

. Ērgļi had 2,769 residents as of 2017.

History

Ērgļi castle on Ogre river was one of the largest castles of Latgale. From 1211 the area belonged to the

Order of the Brothers of the Sword german: Schwertbrüderordenfrench: Ordre des Chevaliers Porte-Glaive , image= , caption= , dates=1204–1237 , country= Terra Mariana , allegiance= Catholic Church , garrison= Wenden (Cēsis), Fellin (Viljandi), Segewold (Sigulda). Aschera ...

and later to the

Archdiocese of Riga The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Riga is an archdiocese administered from the capital city of Riga in Latvia.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 area fell to Poland-Lithuania then to Sweden and 1721 to Russia. The village was built around the estate Erlaa and had in 1931 331 inhabitants. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, the village was in the combat zone in 1944 and was completely destroyed. In the postwar period, the place grew by settlement of industry.

Twin towns

Kölln-Reisiek Kölln-Reisiek is a municipality in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe af ...

, Germany

External links

* Towns and villages in Latvia Castles of the Teutonic Knights Kreis Wenden Madona Municipality Vidzeme {{Vidzeme-geo-stub