Bērzaine Gymnasium - witness of the First World War

The 12th Army Headquarters was formed in January 1915. On August 13, 1915, after the division of the Northwestern Front into the Northern and Western Fronts, the 12th Army Headquarters was disbanded, and the 13th Army Headquarters was renamed the 12th Army Headquarters. It was located in Kovel, Volyn Province, but in the summer and autumn of 1915 moved to Birkenruh bei Wenden.

At the end of 1915, the Germans began to form defensive positions on the outskirts of Riga. Until August 1917, this front did not change. For almost two years as part of the 12th Army, Latvian riflemen fought in the territory of Latvia, on the front of Riga.

The 12th Army (Commander Dmitrijs Parskis - Дмитрий Павлович Парский) had 192,000 soldiers, 1,102 cannons and 1,900 machine guns on the Riga front before the German attack in August 1917, including 18,500 soldiers and 102 machine gunners in the Latvian Rifle Regiment. The army's operational combat headquarters was located near the front, but the headquarters, which planned to recruit the army, supply and build fortified lines of defense, was located in Bērzaine near Cēsis. For the needs of the resignation, a line of fortifications of Cēsis (Vendenas) or positions of Cēsis (Vendenas) was built, which in a semicircle stretched from the Daugava near Koknese through Mālpils to the mouth of the Peterupe in the Gulf of Riga. Map of Zusammendruck Riga

In Cesis, the 12th Army Headquarters used not only the main building of Bērzaine Gymnasium for the work and life of the staff, but also other residential and farm buildings of the teachers of this educational institution, as well as private houses in the vicinity of the school. The Magistrates' House in the city was also adapted for the needs of the headquarters court. In September 1917, when Russian troops withdrew from the Riga front, Bērzaine's premises were also destroyed. Even horses have been kept on the 1st and 2nd floors of the school for some time.

Parts of the 12th Army participated in the Riga operation, also known in military history as the Battle of Riga or Itier Riga Offensive. It was an attack operation of the 8th Army of the German Empire during the First World War with the aim of occupying Riga. The battles took place from September 1 to 6, 1917. More than 60,000 soldiers took part in the attack on the German side, and 161,000 soldiers on the Russian side. The battle-capable parts of the 12th Army were unable to deter the Germans. The units that remained in Riga retreated with the army to Vidzeme.

After World War I, from 1920, the building housed the Cēsis (Bērzaine) State Secondary School.

Now in these premises - Cēsis Bērzaine Primary School - development center.

History of Bērzaine Gymnasium

In May 1825, Alberts Voldemārs Holanders, born in the Riga Partrican family and studied theology and pedagogy in Tartu, Jena and Berlin, founded his school in Brenguli (Alt-Wrangelshof) near Valmiera. In October 1826, Hollander moved his educational institution to Birkenruh bei Wenden (Birkenruh bei Wenden) and established a prestigious school there, the fame of which far exceeded the borders of Vidzeme province.

In 1880, the Vidzeme Knighthood Landtag decided to buy Bērzaini and establish a knighthood gymnasium here. Construction of the new building, which was paid for by the government, began. On the proposal of the Minister of People's Enlightenment, the Council of State allowed the Vidzeme nobility to open an educational institution in 1882 in Bērzaine near Cēsis entitled "Kaiser Alexander II Gymnasium". In August 1882, a classical gymnasium with German as the language of instruction was opened on the basis of the school founded by A. Holander.

In 1889, on the proposal of the Ministry of People's Enlightenment, the Council of State decided to close the "Kaiser Alexander II Gymnasium" in Bērzaine within three years. The closing act of Bērzaine Gymnasium took place on June 6, 1892.

Since the founding of the educational institution founded by A. Holander, they have worked as its directors: from 1825 to 1861 - Dr. Alberts Holanders (Hollander); 1861-1869 - Martin Lefler (1813-1869; Löffler) 1861–1869; 1869-1882 - Albert Lefler (1843-1899; Löffler); 1882-1884 - Prof. Dr. Ernests Kohs (1839-1920; Koch); 1885 –1885 - Herman Stepf (1853-1888; Stief); 1886–1892 - Adolf Felts (1841–1925; Feldt).

With the permission of the Ministry of People's Enlightenment, the Vidzeme Knights' Gymnasium resumed work in Bērzaine near Cēsis in 1906, however, it ceased its activities during the First World War. From 1906 to 1913 he worked as the director of a gymnasium

Reinhold Tanccher (b. 1863; Tantscher), and from 1914 to 1915 Leo Gercs (b. 1856; Goertz) was the director.