Viesīte Freedom Monument Memorial site

Viesīte Freedom Monument is a symbol of freedom, independence and remembrance, dedicated to the battles of the defenders of Viesīte against the Bermontians in 1919.

On 14 October 1919, soldiers of the Third Jelgava Infantry Regiment, together with a unit of Viesīte-Sauka-Varenbroka home guards, stopped the attack of the Bermontians at Viesīte Vale Hill. As a result of this victory, the advance of Bermontian units into Upper Kurzeme and Latgale was stopped. Viesīte Freedom Monument depicts a freedom fighter, who is greeting the sun with the flag of Latvia in his hands. The words “Brīvība – tautas dzīvība” (Freedom is the life of the people) are engraved on the monument. Sculptor Voldemārs Jākobsons is the author of the design of the monument, and stonemason Voldemārs Treijs carved the monument in Finnish granite. The monument was unveiled on 11 August 1935. Every year, on Lāčplēsis Day, a torchlight procession takes place through Viesīte to the Freedom Monument, honouring the freedom fighters of Latvia who gave their lives and fell for their fatherland