Victory monument in Cēsis Memorial site

The Victory Monument to Latvians and Estonians killed in the Battles of Cēsis is located in the city of Cēsis, on Vienības Square. In honour of the participants of the 1919 Battles of Cēsis, on 22 June 1924, the first stone was laid for the Victory Monument as sketched by architect Pauls Kundziņš, using funds donated by the people. During the Soviet occupation regime, on the night of 25 March 1951, the monument was blown up and taken down completely. A monument to Lenin, created by sculptor Kārlis Jansons, stood on the former Victory (Unity) Square from 1959 to 1990. In 1997, Māris Niklass, chairperson of the Cēsis District Council, managed to involve Estonian state institutions in the restoration of the monument. The material needed for the construction of the monument, Saaremaa dolomite, was received from Estonia as a gift. On 22 June 1998, during the celebrations of the 79th anniversary of the Battles of Cēsis, the first stone of the monument to be restored was laid on Vienības Square. A ceremony to unveil the restored Victory Monument took place in Cēsis on 15 November 1998 (author: architect Imants Timermanis). Information about the Victory Monument is available in the ‘Cēsis and the Latvian War of Independence’ exhibit of the Cēsis History and Art Museum, in the New Castle.