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Kuldīga
Kuldīga () () is a town in the Courland region of Latvia, in the western part of the country. It is the center of Kuldīga Municipality with a population of approximately 13,500. Kuldīga was first mentioned in 1242. It joined the Hanseatic League in 1368. In the 17th century, Kuldīga (along with Jelgava) was one of the capitals of the Courland, Duchy of Courland from 1596 to 1616. Kuldīga is an ancient town in Latvia's western region of Courland, Kurzeme with distinctive architecture, which is included in the list of the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Catherine of Alexandria, Saint Catherine is believed to be the patron saint of Kuldīga, and the oldest church of the town is named after St Catherine. The foundation of the building was laid as early as in 1252. The church has been remodeled a number of times. The small River Alekšupīte runs through the very centre of the Kuldīga old town, along the walls of the houses. The Old Town around the small river itself is the onl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kuldīga Municipality
Kuldīga Municipality () is a municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Ēdole parish, Gudenieki parish, Īvande parish, Kabile parish, Kurmāle parish, Laidi parish, Padure parish, Pelči parish, Renda parish, Rumba parish, Snēpele parish, Turlava parish, Vārme parish and Kuldīga town. The administrative centre is Kuldīga. As of 2020, the population was 22,028. During the 2021 Latvian administrative reform, the previous municipality was merged with Alsunga Municipality and Skrunda Municipality. The new municipality now fully corresponds with the area of the former Kuldīga district. History Kuldīga municipality was established on 1 July 2009. Before that, it was a part of Kuldīga district, which also included Alsunga and Skrunda districts. Kuldīga district was established in 1949. From 1952 to 1953, Kuldīga district was included in Liepāja district. From 1819 to 1949, most of Kuldīga parish belonged to Kuld� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courland
Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were formerly held by the same duke. The literal meaning of the name is "Land of Curonians". Geography and climate Situated in western Latvia, Courland roughly corresponds to the former Latvian districts of Kuldīga, Liepāja, Saldus, Talsi, Tukums and Ventspils. When combined with Semigallia and Selonia, Courland's northeastern boundary is the Daugava River, which separates it from the regions of Latgale and Vidzeme. To the north, Courland's coast lies along the Gulf of Riga. On the west it is bordered by the Baltic Sea, and on the south by Lithuania. It lies between 55° 45′ and 57° 45′ North and 21° and 27° East. The name is also found in the Curonian Spit and Lithuanian ''Karšuvos giria'' - the Courland wood. The area c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skrunda
Skrunda (; ) is a town in the Courland region of Latvia. It lies 150 km (95 mi) west of the capital city Riga in Kuldīga Municipality. History The historical sources first mentioned Skrunda () in the Curonian Peninsula in 1253. In 1368 the Skrunda Castle of the German Order was built on the left bank of Venta. During the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia period glass mills, powder mills, and nail, gun, and rifle workshops were operating in Skrunda. The finished products were transported down the Venta River. From 1685, through Skrunda, the main postal route of the Dukedom was Jelgava - Dobele - Blīdene - Saldus - Skrunda - Grobiņa - Liepāja - Sventa - Mēmele. During the Swedish invasion of the Great Northern War, the town was plundered. At the beginning of the 19th century, near the ruins of the former Order Castle, the Skrunda Manor House was built in the classic style. It was restored in 1881. The settlement began to form after the construction of the narrow-ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venta Rapid
Venta Rapid () is a waterfall on the Venta River in Kuldīga, western Latvia. It is the widest waterfall in Europe at across, and becomes as wide as during spring floods. The height of the falls varies from depending on the level of water in the river. Geology The waterfall is formed by Devonian dolomite and its formation is due to the difference in hardness of mineral between its lower and upper parts. Below, it is more brittle and erodes faster, leaving the top layer to hang over it. These upper, more convex parts sometimes collapse and fall into the river. As a result, the waterfall slowly recedes, and since the flow in the central zone is more powerful, the middle of the waterfall gradually retreats higher upstream compared to its sides. History The town of Kuldiga was established here because the falls formed an obstacle on the Venta medieval inland shipping route. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venta River
The Venta (Latvian pronunciation , Lithuanian , , , Livonian ''Vǟnta joug'') is a river in north-western Lithuania and western Latvia. Its source is near Kuršėnai in the Lithuanian Šiauliai County. It flows into the Baltic Sea at Ventspils in Latvia. On the territory of Lithuania along the Venta are cities Užventis, Kuršėnai, Venta, Viekšniai and Mažeikiai. In Latvia, the cities of Skrunda, Kuldīga, Piltene and Ventspils are located on the Venta river. Venta Rapid, the widest waterfall in Europe, is on Venta river in Kuldīga, Latvia. Basin system The river has only one tributary longer than 100 km, the Abava. Other major tributaries include the Virvyčia (99.7 km) and the Varduva (96 km), which flows into the Venta at the Latvia–Lithuania border. Smaller tributaries include the Avižlys, which runs for 20 kilometers and flows into the Venta River and the 30 kilometre Uogys which joins the Venta less than 1 km upstream of the A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alsunga
Alsunga (also Alšvanga, ) is a village in Alsunga Parish, Kuldīga Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia. Alsunga is the center of the Suiti, a small Catholic community in the Lutheran western part of Latvia. There are approximately 1345 inhabitants in Alsunga. Alsunga was first mentioned in 1230, as an old settlement of Curonians with Curonian language, Curonian name and typical suffix -anga- (comp. Alšvanga, Palanga). In 1372, a Alsunga Castle, castle was built for the vogt of Kuldīga komtur. In 1561 Alsunga became the part of the predominantly Lutheran Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. In 1567, the Michael (archangel), Saint Michael church was built. In 1623, the local landowner, Johan Ulrich von Schwerin, in order to marry a Catholic court lady Barbara Konarska from Vilnius, agreed to himself become Catholic. After the marriage he lived in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Lithuania and Poland until 1632, when he returned to Alsunga after his father's death. In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goldingen Um 1680
Goldingen is a former municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Goldingen and St. Gallenkappel merged into the municipality of Eschenbach.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 2 January 2013 History The name Goldingen was applied to two different hamlets in the municipality. The current hamlet of Goldingen is first mentioned in 1800 and before that time was known as ''Thal''. The hamlet of Vordersagen was first mentioned in 1266 as ''Goldelingin'' and until about 1700 was known as Goldingen. Additionally the hamlet of Hintersagen was known until about 1800 a ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 their defeat by Samogitians in 1236 at the Battle of Saule, Battle of Schaulen (Saule). They were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights and became known as the Livonian Order in 1237. In the summer of that year, the Master of Prussia Hermann Balk rode into Riga to install his men as castle commanders and administrators of Livonia. In 1238, the Teutonic Knights of Livonia signed the Treaty of Stensby with the Denmark, Kingdom of Denmark. Under this agreement, Denmark would support the expansion ambitions of the order in exchange for northern maritime Estonia. In 1242, the Livonian Order tried to take the city of Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod. However, they were defeated by Alexander Nevsky in the Battle on the Ice. Fortresses as Paide in land c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the late 12th century, the League expanded between the 13th and 15th centuries and ultimately encompassed nearly 200 settlements across eight modern-day countries, ranging from Tallinn in Estonia in the east, Bergen (Bjørgvin) in Norway to the North to the Netherlands in the west, and extended inland as far as Cologne, Prussia (region), the Prussian regions and Kraków, Poland. The League began as a collection of loosely associated groups of German traders and towns aiming to expand their commercial interests, including protection against robbery. Over time, these arrangements evolved into the League, offering traders toll privileges and protection on affiliated territory and trade routes. Economic interdependence and familial connections am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Couronians
:''The Kursenieki are also sometimes known as Curonians.'' The Curonians or Kurs (; ) were a medieval Baltic tribe living on the shores of the Baltic Sea in the 5th–16th centuries, in what are now western parts of Latvia and Lithuania. They eventually merged with other Baltic tribes contributing to the ethnogenesis of present-day Latvians and Lithuanians. Curonians gave their name to the region of Courland (''Kurzeme''), Kuršėnai town, Curonian spit and many other localities. They spoke the Curonian language. Origin The ethnic origin of the Curonians has been disputed in the past. Some researchers place the Curonians in the eastern Baltic group.Östen Dahl (ed.) 2001, ''The Circum-Baltic Languages: Typology and Contact,'' vol. 1 Others hold that the Curonians were related to Old Prussians who belonged in the western Baltic group. History The historical Curonians were described in contemporary sources as warriors, sailors and pirates. They are on the record having been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Komtur
Commander (; ; ; ; ), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval military orders, such as the Knights Hospitaller, for a member senior to a Knight. Variations include Knight Commander, notably in English, sometimes used to denote an even higher rank than Commander. In some orders of chivalry, Commander ranks above (i.e. Officer), but below one or more ranks with a prefix meaning 'Great', e.g. in French, in German, (using an equivalent suffix) in Spanish, in Italian, and in Dutch (, 'Grand Commander'), Grand Cross. France History The rank of in the French orders comes from the Middle Ages military orders, in which low-level administrative houses were called and were governed by . In the Modern Age, the French Kings created chivalric orders which mimicked the military order's ranks. * The Order of the Holy Spirit, created in 1578 by king Henry III, had two categories of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durbe
Durbe (; , , , ''Durbe''/Дурбен ''Durben'') is a town in South Kurzeme unicipality, in the Courland region of Latvia. Durbe was first noted in 1260, when the Battle of Durbe occurred near Lake Durbe. As of 2020, the population was 492. Town rights were granted to Durbe in 1893 and confirmed in 1917. Durbe manor served as the headquarters of a German brigade in 1917. The town's coat of arms was granted in 1925: a silver apple tree with seven apples, one for each day of the week. The tree represents the Durbe Apple Orchards, created in the early 20th century by the mayor and city gardener Sīmanis Klēvers. In Latvian folklore, an apple tree is also considered a magical source of youth and sympathy. The city flag was adopted in 2016. Notable people *Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics (1887–1925), prime minister of Latvia and minister of foreign affairs of Latvia See also *List of cities in Latvia There are 10 cities (, "state city", ) and 71 towns (, "municipality town", ) i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
