Monument of K. Zemdega to the Victims of the World War I in Tukums
Memorial site
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Located in Tukums, at the foot of Saules Hill.
The monument "The Rifleman" designed by Kārlis Zemdega is one of the last monuments to be unveiled in 1940 before Latvia lost its independence. It depicts a young soldier kneeling and swearing allegiance to his Fatherland. At the foot of the monument is the Brothers' Cemetery with more than 40 burials.
During World War I, when Kurzeme was under German occupation, a cemetery was established on the slope of Pavārkalns. People who were shot and sentenced to death by the German military court were buried there. Initially, the burials were numbered and only in 1925 was it possible to determine the identities of all the sentenced people. They were mainly captured Latvian riflemen. Among them were also civilians. Later, the remains of the people were reburied together with the fallen Latvian army soldiers in the place where the Brothers' Graves were created at the foot of the K. Zemdega monument.
Today, you can visit the memorial site. K. Zemdega created several excellent monuments, including the one in Tukums.
Used sources and references:
Lismanis, J. In memory of battles and fallen soldiers: 1915-1920. Riga: Nims, 1999.
The design of the Tukums Brothers' Cemetery monument has been adopted. Jauna Tukums Balss. No. 16. 1938.
