Monument commemorating the Cēsis battles
Memorial site

The monument to the Estonian and Latvian soldiers who died in the Battles of Cēsis is located in Priekuļi municipality, Liepā, about 1 kilometre south of the Lode Railway Station, on the side of Rūpnīcas street. The first stone of the monument was laid on 22 September 1929, and the monument was unveiled on 11 August 1935. Based on a sketch by Sculptor Augusts Julla who lived in Jullas, Liepa parish, and made of limestone from the village of Allaži, the monument is a high-relief depiction of a peasant soldier leaning on a plough with one hand and a raised sword in the other. The death mask of the sculptor’s father Jānis Julla was used to create the face of the sculpture. According to Aivars Vilnis, a researcher of the history of Liepa parish, a bird’s eye view of the monument reveals that the base of and the path and stairs leading to the monument form the shape of an arrow facing Liepa Manor (Lindenhoff) in the direction of German positions during the Battles of Cēsis. There is doubt, of course, as to whether this was truly the author’s intention at the time; however, it certainly enriches our interpretation of the monument today. Next to the monument are the only natural sandstone arches in Latvia known as ‘Lielā Ellīte’ (‘Liepas Ellīte’ or the Devil’s Kiln).