Gulbene (; german: Schwanenburg) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in northeastern Latvia. It is an administrative center of

Gulbene Municipality Gulbene Municipality ( lv, Gulbenes novads) is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by Merger (politics), merging Beļava parish, Dauksti parish, Druviena parish, Galgauska parish, Jaungulbene parish, Lejasciems p ...

. The area of this region is , with a population of 29,797 inhabitants (69,369 sealen, 10,015 urban, 19,782 rural population).

History

Historical documents first mention the 1224 land division act between the Order of the Sword Brothers and the Archbishop of Riga. In the 14th century, the Archbishop built a stone castle around which a populated place was formed. The

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

church (Brivības iela 13) was built on the ancient Latgalian castle mound in place of the later Middle Age brick castle from 1838–1843. The church is built in the

classical style Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

. Vecgulbene (Old Gulbene) estate complex was built in the middle and second half of the 19th century not far off the church. The most significant buildings are the White Palace (Brivības iela 12), the Red Palace (Parka iela 1) and the magazine granary (Brivības iela 9). Both palaces have been destroyed and rebuilt several times. Since 1924 the elementary school of the city occupies the Red Palace. After the construction of the Stukmani to

Valka Valka (; german: Walk) is a town and municipality in northern Latvia, on the border with Estonia along both banks of the river Pedele. Valka and the Estonian town Valga are twins, separated by the Estonian/Latvian border but using the slogan "O ...

narrow-gauge railway in 1903 and subsequent broad-gauge line construction during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Vecgulbene was established as an important railway junction, and in 1920 it was given the rights of a small village. During the first period of Latvian independence, besides those employed by the railways, small business, trades and crafts were the most important economic activities in the town. Gulbene was heavily damaged during the last years of

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 ...

. After the war, during the Soviet occupation, Gulbene initially became a district, and later, in 1950, a regional centre. In the 1960s and 1970s branches of several major industrial companies were established in the city. Local enterprise was mainly involved with

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 ...

. The most architecturally significant building in the area is the passenger building at Gulbene railway station, built in 1926 by the well-known professor of architecture Peteris Feders (1868 – 1936). It is one of the largest and most magnificent railway station buildings in Latvia.

Geography

There is one major town in the Gulbene municipality, and the region is separated into 13 smaller rural parishes. Gulbene is being developed as an environmentally-friendly territory.

Tourism

The Gulbenes Regional History and Art Museum displays one of the most valuable relics of Latvian museums - a chair designed by Julius Madernieks (1870–1955) made in the 1920s. Julius Madernieks was the founder of Latvian professional applied art born in Vecgulbenes parish and being notable person in city Gulbene.

Sports

The Gulbene municipality's biggest rivers (

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 ...

, Tirza and

Pededze The Pededze ( et, Pedetsi jõgi) is a river in Latvia and Estonia. It has a length of of which 131 km runs through Latvia and 26 km through Estonia . It flows generally south. It is a right tributary of the Aiviekste, the source of P ...

) are currently popular locations for nature

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

and water-sports, but once these were famous places for harvesting river-pearls. Cycling is enjoyed on local country paths. Gulbene has a

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team, Gulbenes Buki, playing in the higher division of the Latvian basketball league.

Media

The Gulbene region is served by a newspaper, '' Dzirkstele''.

Gallery

Gulbene raudteejaam 01.JPG, Gulbene Railway Station Red castle of Gulbene - panoramio.jpg, Red Castle of Gulbene Gulbene Vidus iela, 2013.jpg, Building on the Vidus street in Gulbene Gulbene War of Independence Monument, 2013.jpg,

War of independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

Monument in Gulbene Gulbene church.jpg, Lutheran church Gulbene, Church of the Most Holy Sacrament.JPG, Church of the Most Holy Sacrament Gulbene veetorn.JPG Gulbene politseimaja.JPG, Gulbene Police Station Gulbene park.JPG, Park with a fountain

Twin towns

Babruysk Babruysk, Babrujsk or Bobruisk ( be, Бабруйск , Łacinka: , rus, Бобруйск, Bobrujsk, bɐˈbruɪ̯s̪k, yi, באָברויסק ) is a city in the Mogilev Region of eastern Belarus on the Berezina River. , its population was 209 ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

Rietavas Rietavas (; Samogitian: ''Rėitavs''; pl, Retów) is a city in Lithuania on the Jūra River. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 3,979. It is the capital of Rietavas municipality. The city is famous for building the first power ...

, Lithuania * Them,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

Notable people

* Inguna Sudraba, Latvia's Auditor General *

Gido Kokars Gido Kokars (16 August 1921 – 10 March 2017) was a Latvian conductor. He was the twin brother of Imants Kokars, also a conductor. References External links {{DEFAULTSORT:Kokars, Gido 1921 births 2017 deaths People from Gulbene Latvi ...

, conductor, choirmaster *

Imants Kokars Imants Kokars (16 August 1921 in Gulbene, Latvia – 24 November 2011 in Riga, Latvia) was a Latvian pedagogue and conductor. His twin brother Gido Kokars Gido Kokars (16 August 1921 – 10 March 2017) was a Latvian conductor. He was the twin ...

, conductor, choirmaster * Augusts Malvess, architect

References

{{Authority control Towns in Latvia 1928 establishments in Latvia Castles of the Teutonic Knights Kreis Walk Gulbene Municipality