Lielvārde (; ), population 5885, is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Ogre Municipality Ogre Municipality () is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2002 by Merger (politics), merging Ogre, Latvia, Ogre town and Ogresgals Parish. In 2009 it absorbed Krape Parish, Ķeipene Parish, Laubere Parish, Madliena ...

in the

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', ) 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 north-centra ...

region of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, on the right bank of the

Daugava The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...

river, 52 km southeast of

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

History

The area was a contact zone between the Finnic

Livonians The Livonians, or Livs, are a Balto-Finnic people indigenous to the Livonian Coast, in northwestern Latvia. Livonians historically spoke Livonian language, Livonian, a Uralic language closely related to Estonian language, Estonian and Finnish lan ...

and the

Balts The Balts or Baltic peoples (, ) are a group of peoples inhabiting the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea who speak Baltic languages. Among the Baltic peoples are modern-day Lithuanians (including Samogitians) and Latvians (including Latgalians ...

, and many prehistoric artifacts have been uncovered there. A

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

hill-fort named Lennewarden being taken in

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

by Albert of Buxhoeveden in 1201 is mentioned in the

Chronicle of Henry of Livonia The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' () is a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's Estonia and Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was written by a priest named Henry. Apart from some references ...

. This site is called ''Dievukalns'' (Hill of the Gods) in Latvian. A stone castle was constructed by the Riga diocese in 1229; its ruins are still accessible today. A

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

was established when the area was part of

Swedish Livonia Swedish Livonia () was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1629 until 1721. The territory, which constituted the southern part of modern Estonia (including the island of Ösel ceded by Denmark after the Treaty of Brömsebro) and the northe ...

, but ca. 70% of the population perished in the Great Plague of 1710. The opening of the Riga–Daugavpils Railway in 1861 led to the expansion of the town around the railway station ''Ringmundhofa'' later named Rembate. The town was entirely destroyed in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

but was swiftly rebuilt after Latvia achieved independence. After the occupation of Latvia and its incorporation into the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

as the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

, Edgars Kauliņš (1903–1979), the local Communist Party secretary, was able to save all of the farmers in the district from deportation during the period of forced

collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...

, declaring that there were no

kulak Kulak ( ; rus, кула́к, r=kulák, p=kʊˈɫak, a=Ru-кулак.ogg; plural: кулаки́, ''kulakí'', 'fist' or 'tight-fisted'), also kurkul () or golchomag (, plural: ), was the term which was used to describe peasants who owned over ...

s in the area and he would rather be deported himself. In 1948 Kauliņš became the founding chairman of the

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...

Lāčplēsis ("The Bear Slayer"), now part of Lielvārde. The kolkhoz became famous for its beer, still brewed by AS Lāčplēša alus, part of the Scandinavian

Royal Unibrew Royal Unibrew is a brewing and beverage company headquartered in Faxe, Denmark. Its brands include Ceres brewery, Ceres, Faxe Brewery, Faxe, Albani Brewery, Albani, Thor Brewery, Thor, Karlens Brewery, Karlens and Royal. Royal Unibrew also has a s ...

brewing group since 2005. Beer is no longer brewed in Lielvārde, the company has only kept the brand. Lielvārde air base was built by the Soviets in 1970; the largest in the

Baltic States The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

, it was taken over by the

Latvian Air Force Latvian Air Force () is the aviation branch of the Military of Latvia, National Armed Forces. The first air force (AF) units were established in 1919 and re-established in 1992. It has no air combat capability, thus the defense of Latvian air spa ...

in 1994.

Cultural traditions

Lielvārde is renowned as the area that inspired the prominent Latvian poets

Auseklis Auseklis is a Latvians, Latvian pagan god, a stellar deityLurker, Manfred (2004). ''The Routledge dictionary of gods and goddesses, devils and demons''. Routledge. p. 25. . that represents a celestial body, but possibly not the same as Venus (' ...

and Andrejs Pumpurs, author of the epic '' Lāčplēsis'' (''The Bear Slayer'', 1888), and for the ''Lielvārdes josta'', a traditional woven belt with 22 ancient symbols. Portions of the belt's design are featured on Latvian banknotes, and its symbolism has inspired many artists and

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

enthusiasts, especially those associated with the pagan revival, dievturība.

Schools

* Edgara Kauliņa Lielvārdes Vidusskola * Lielvārdes Pamatskola * PII Pūt Vējiņi

References

*Arveds Švābe, ed.: ''Latvju enciklopēdija''. Stockholm: Trīs Zvaigznes, 1952–1953. *Guntis Zemītis, ''Ornaments un simbols Latvijas aizvēsturē''. Rīga: Latvijas vēstures institūta apgāds, 2004.
Ogres rajona pašvaldību vortāls.
Retrieved 25. II. 2006. *James A. Brundage, ''The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1961.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lielvarde Cities and towns in Vidzeme Populated places established in 1992 Riga county Populated places in Ogre Municipality

History

Cultural traditions

Schools

See also

References

External links