Rudbārži Manor Castle and memorial plaque to the 1st Latvian Separate Battalion
Battle site
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The castle is located in Rudbārži, on the Riga - Liepāja A9 highway. A memorial plaque commemorating the deeds of Oskars Kalpaka's battalion is placed in front of the building.
The castle was built in 1835 as a property of the Baron von Firks family on the order of Baroness Thea von Firks. On 15 December 1905 the manor house was burnt down by revolutionaries. Restoration work under the direction of architect L. Reiniers began three years later.
During the Latvian War of Independence, Rudbārži Castle served as a base and headquarters for combat operations on the banks of the Venta River, commanded by Colonel Oskars Kalpaks' 1st Separate Latvian Battalion.
Later, the castle was used as a recreation base for Latvian army soldiers. In 1938 the castle was rebuilt.
During the Second World War the building housed a hospital for German army soldiers, and in the post-war years - a school for forest workers. In 1962 the castle became the Rudbārži School, which was named after Oskars Kalpaks in 1991. The Hall of Heroes of Rudbārži Manor was restored in 2016. The school is currently closed, but in the coming years the building is planned to house a vocational military secondary school named after Oskars Kalpaks.
Used sources and references:
www.skrunda.lv/lv/turisms/apskates-objekti/rudbarzu-pagasts/rudbarzu-muiza/
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Visit of General Ridiger von der Goltz to Rudbārži in February 1919
In February 1919, after a successful anti-German campaign in Finland, German General Ridiger von der Goltz was appointed commander of the German armed formations in Courland and Northern Lithuania, including the Landwehr, which included the 1st Latvian Battalion. During his visit to the front in February 1919, he also arrived in Rudbārži. Lieutenant Jānis Ķīselis, the battalion's special task officer, described the General's visit in his memoirs.