The final resting place of Colonel Oskars Kalpaks
Memorial site
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Located in Visagala Cemetery, Madona County
On display is a monument to Oskars Kalpaks, unveiled on July 10, 1927, by Kārlis Zāle and Arnoldis Dzirkalis - a three-figure composition, in the center of which is an ancient Latvian warrior with a shield and sword in his hands, and on both sides of him are two warriors standing. At the foot of the sculptural group, a bronze plaque is placed obliquely on a granite base, on which is engraved a text that also includes a poem by Edvards Virza dedicated to Kalpaks.
Oskars Kalpaks fell on March 6, 1919, near “Airītē”, on the side of the Skrunda-Saldus road, and his remains were transferred from the Liepāja Northern Cemetery to the family cemetery in Visagala on September 18.
The monument was unveiled by the chairman of the Colonel O. Kalpaks monument committee, General J. Balodis, in the presence of the then President of the Republic G. Zemgalas, Prime Minister M. Skujenieks, Speaker of the Saeima P. Kalniņš, Minister of War R. Bangerskis and K. Ulmanis. The foundation stone of the monument was laid on June 19, 1925. The stone for the monument was taken from the colonel's native home in Siena Marsh, on this stone O. Kalpaks loved to play the violin in his childhood.
Used sources and references:
Laimdota Ivanova “Overview of the cemeteries, memorial sites, and monuments of those who fell in the Latvian Freedom Struggle and the 1905 Revolution in the Madona district.” 2004.
Lismanis, J. 1915-1920. In memory of battles and fallen soldiers: Memorial sites of the First World War and the Latvian Liberation Struggle. Riga: NIMS, 1999.
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