Monument "To those who fell for the Fatherland 1918 - 1920."
Memorial site

Avots: Gita Memmēna, Vidzemes tūrisma asociācija
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 Rīgas iela, Jēkabpils, Jēkabpils nov., Latvia
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It is located on the edge of Riga Street, opposite the Krustpils Palace.

In Jēkabpils, on the right bank of the Daugava, the proposal for erecting a monument to the fallen soldiers of the Freedom Struggle for the monument "Fallen for the Fatherland 1918 - 1920" was made by the Krustpils branch of the Latvian Brothers' Graves Committee on June 12, 1923. For the creation of the monument, on November 12, 1923, the Krustpils Parish Board handed over the stone part of the Tsar Alexander II monument at the parish board building, where the monument was installed in honor of the abolition of serfdom, to the disposal of the Fraternal Graves Committee. The Ministry of the Interior of Latvia allowed the Krustpils branch of the Fraternal Graves Committee to collect donations. In total, 2,400 lats were donated, 1,200 were missing. It was hoped to get them from the bazaar and social evening organized on the opening day of the monument.

The project of the monument is entrusted to the architect Aleksanders Birznieks. The architect's plans were to create a monument from local material - dolomite studs. The volume of the monument was formed by two concentric, massive semi-circles of dolomite stud masonry, the outer one on the Daugava side was lower, cut into the shore and formed a terrace. In its center was a fire cross made of red bricks. In the center of the main half-circle, as an altar, granite plates with the text: "Fallen for the Fatherland 1918 - 1920" and depicting the rising sun above the waves of the Daugava, framed by Latvian symbols. The central part of the monument was formed by the mask of the fallen soldier, which was forged by the sculptor V. Trejs. The Acting Commander of the Latgale Artillery Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Jākobsons, allowed the use of the square on the right bank of the Daugava opposite the Krustpils Castle for the construction of the monument, on the condition that the square remains the property of the Latgale Artillery Regiment.

In 1925, the Krustpils branch of the Latvian Brethren Cemetery Committee concluded a contract with businessman V. Treija from Riga for the construction of a monument in Krustpils. On July 26, 1925, the foundation of the monument was laid. September 27, 1925 is a holy day for Crusaders. The opening of the monument is taking place with its consecration by the Lutheran pastor of Krustpils parish K. Skujiņš. The Minister of War R. Bangerskis, the commander of the Latgale Artillery Regiment, Colonel Kire, General K. Berķis, etc. participate in the construction of the monument.

20th century In the 1950s, the monument "Fallen for the Fatherland 1918 - 1920" was partially destroyed - the upper part was demolished - the mask of ancient Latvian soldiers, smeared inscriptions, destroyed fire cross sign. On the other hand, already at the beginning of the Third Awakening, the activists of the Krustpils branch of the Latvian People's Front (LTF) in the first regional conferences of the LTF wrote in the resolution the demand to restore the monument in Krustpils. Already on November 11, 1989, at the place where the monument was located, a commemoration was held in which the people of Jēkabpils remembered their Lāčplēši.

At the beginning of 1992, the restoration works of the monument were started. Granite pieces of the required size and shape are manufactured at the Cēsis utility company combine. The granite was processed according to the drawings by E. Nīmanis and V. Treikmanis. The technical supervision of the restoration of the monument is carried out by architect Māra Steķe. In Riga, the sculptor Inta Berga cast the bronze details of the monument. All works were financed from Jēkabpils city funding. The renovated monument was consecrated by Modris Plāte, the then-present rector of Jēkabpils and Krustpils Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Jānis Bratuškins, pastor of Jēkabpils Catholic Church, on November 18, 1992.

Opened in Krustpilis on September 27, 1925. The monument was designed by the architect Aleksandar Birzeniek. The inscription "Fallen even for the Fatherland 1918-1920" is carved into the monument. The monument was partially demolished by the Soviet occupation power in 1941, it was completely destroyed around 1950. The monument was renovated on November 18, 1992.

Used sources and references:

Iluta Bērziņa, custodian of the main collection of the Jēkabpils History Museum