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.
After receiving information about the upcoming guest, the colonel (Oskars Kalpaks. Students (soldiers of the Individual Student Company) and other boys, free from service, rode around them. A car is getting up somewhere nearby. The colonel made me go out and get the guests at the door, but he stayed inside. Ours, who happened nearby, greeted the approaching general thoroughly, but no joint team sounded. General von der Golz and a staff officer got out of the car. Then was this famous warrior and savior of Finland. Tall stature, tall hair, stately floor - it left an imposing impression.
We greeted you and introduced you. The general forehead tightened in the grooves of the yarn, - the old Prussian aristocrat did not like to be admitted to the home of Latvian peasants. And he probably knew our talks with Oberstab about this visit. When we entered, Colonel Kalpaks came across the hall. The two men watched each other closely, greeted, and the colonel led the general on.
In the small, round office on both sides of the table are both guests, the other colonel with Captain Balodi and I at the end of the table, because the colonel did not speak German. After brief, informative questions about our strengths and position on the front, von der Golz went straight to the thing that was closest and most painful to him. He was informed of our mobilization in Tash-Padure (now Kalvene) and that the colonel had sent officers to some parishes to call on the people to help us. The general immediately began to speak in a rather anxious voice that he was in charge of all the armed forces in the territory and that he could not allow any mobilizations, because all Latvians were Bolsheviks and if we mobilized them, he could not be sure that they were missing. on the back. Under no circumstances can such mobilizations be mobilized against the Red Army, as they will immediately move to the other side. Colonel Kalpaks equally vigorously rejected these allegations and, for his part, emphasized that the Latvian people were ready to fight against the great men, only they themselves, the Germans, hindered and hindered it in every way. A spark of evil shone in the count's eyes; he certainly did not expect such definite resistance to his intentions here. Some other issues were discussed about our supply and about the general attack ahead. All in all, however, the count was not very satisfied with the conversations, tasted very little of the lunch we offered and was about to leave. As we went out, von der Golz turned to me, not knowing: "Den Letten, den disturb ich nicht." I later found an explanation for the Count's sincerity in his book, "Meine Sendung in Finnland und im Baltikum", in which he mentions that Col. Kalpak had been an agile adjutant and a half-Jewish interpreter. This is the end of this first and last visit of von der Golt to the Latvian headquarters.
When we had a lot of walks in the reconnaissance processions, we often went to take a bath in the manor sauna, and this sport was most respected by the Colonel. Kalpaks. From the beginning we went with him, later we tried to go to the sauna either before or after him, because the colonel kept tearing the spirit that the other ravens were just trying to get out into the front chamber. When Kalpaks had a good time, he threw himself into a deep snowdrift in a full run from the sauna, got out of it, and then went inside the sauna again. By nature, our leader was very simple and could not stand any outward appearances. There were few punishments, but there was a strict friendly discipline. As a curiosity, I remember the following case: the captain of our "jig" Zariņš, had either torn his old trousers or had run them differently and had imagined that the trousers of the billiard table of Rudbārži Castle could also come out of his trousers. He had made a very luxurious robe with his own hands and walked with a green bottom like a parrot, but he did not have to wear it for a long time, as he soon got a good rub from the colonel and two hours under his sword (Soda type. ed.).
Jelly J. In the struggle for the homeland. Riga, 1936.
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Rudbārži Manor Castle and memorial plaque to the 1st Latvian Separate Battalion
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.
Oskars Kalpaks Museum and Memorial Site “Airītes”
The Oskars Kalpaks Museum and Memorial Site Airītes is located between Saldus and Skrunda near the A9 highway. The exhibit has extensive information about Colonel Oskars Kalpaks and his battalion, and shows the history of the Latvian National Army and the memorial site Airītes. The exhibit reveals Colonel Oskars Kalpaks as a personality, as a soldier and as a fighter for Latvia's independence. Audio logs in Latvian, English and German are also available as part of the exhibit. They emphasize the importance of the historic events of 1918/1919 in the protecting the statehood of Latvia. The museum building has been restored.
Entry is free; guided tour – for a fee. The complex has a recreation area, a park, an obstacle course, it is possible to take various classes, and there is a seminar hall for up to 30 people.
Tāšu - Padure Manor
The Tasi - Padure Manor Castle is now known as Kalvene Primary School, founded in 1922. The school building was built in the 19th century in the late classical style as a hunting lodge for Count Keizerling.
At the beginning of 1919, the first mobilised men who answered the call for mobilisation gathered here and came to the manor. On 22 January 1919, the Latvian Separate Cavalry Unit was established here, one of whose leaders went to the 1st Latvian Separate Battalion commanded by O.Kalpaks on 24 January. The whole unit (about 80 soldiers in total) under the command of commander Arnolds Artum-Hartmanis arrived in Rudbārži on 1 March.
Kalvene Primary School is a national cultural monument. In the 1960s, the castle was renovated and adapted to the needs of the school.
