Monument to the soldiers who fell in the War of Independence
Memorial site

Located in Valka on Varoņu Street next to the Forest Cemetery.

A monument to 30 soldiers of the 1st (4th) Valmiera Infantry Regiment who fell in the Latvian War of Independence can be seen.

The monument was unveiled on October 1, 1922. It consists of a figure of an ancient Latvian warrior (“Ancestor”) carved from local reddish granite, placed on a two-part pedestal made of gray granite. The design chosen for the monument was by sculptor Emīls Melders (Miller). Along with Melders, sculptor Vilhelms Treijs also participated in the carving of the monument.

It is the first monument to the Latvian War of Independence created by a professional sculptor, as well as the only one in the interwar period made in the modernist style, using cubist elements.

During the repeated communist occupation in 1951, the monument sculpture was toppled, partially damaged, and buried. The burial grounds were also leveled.

In 1988, as the centenary of the sculptor E. Melders (1889-1979) approached, a study of his works was initiated.
The restored fraternal cemetery, along with the restored monument, was opened on November 11, 1990.

In 2017, eight memorial steles were installed at the fraternal cemetery to the knights of the Lāčplēsis War Order associated with Valkas. They are located on both sides of the monument – four steles on each side.