About the Latvian War of Independence and the events of 1918 in Aluksne
In 1918, when German troops entered Alūksne, Latvian rifle battalions retreated to Soviet Russia. Until the beginning of December 1918, the German regime was established and reorganized. After Germany succumbed to the war, the Bolsheviks returned to Aluksne and regained power. During the Latvian War of Independence, Finnish volunteers also fought in the Estonian army. On February 21, 1919, fierce battles took place between the Bolsheviks and the Finnish Volunteer Regiment "Northern Boys" in Aluksne, near the station.
“1918. In the autumn of 1945, the Germans hastily withdrew from Aluksne, as the revolution broke out in Germany as well. Soviet power reappeared in Aluksne. The Germans had left many bottles of alcohol in the brake street shop. The red rifles carried the bottles in the yard and smashed them on the rocks. Cheap liqueurs, which the Germans usually exchanged for eggs and bacon for the peasants, now flowed fragrantly through the ridge of Vidus Street.
The Executive Committee was located in Aluksne Castle. I remember Zīle, Samson, Egli, Dipāns Ernests, militia chief Bukan Augustas as leading employees. ”
“1919. In February, one evening, the shooting of rifles and machine guns was heard, which signaled the approach of the front. In Alūksne, Alsviķu Street 11, on a hill in a small house, we live in a small room, our mother, sister and I, so we watched all the events in the house. The noise of the shooting was approaching overnight. On the second morning, cannon shells were running across our hut and exploding in the meadow behind the sauna. The snow in the blast pits turned black. In the afternoon, armed Finnish white guards came along Alsviķu Street. In white winter hats and brown winter boots with folded muzzles. Entered our poor room, looked and left. Terror began in Aluksne. (..) A terrible view was revealed on the station hill. There were many fallen people in the snow all around, some even Chinese. (..) There was a damaged armored train at Alūksne station. (..) A few days later, the fallen heroes of the Baltic Finns were stacked on sledges to the square of Alūksne Castle, where they were buried without coffins in two long common pits. (..) The Executive Committee evacuated from Alūksne Castle. Red Army units also left Aluksne. ”
Memories of Artūrs Kļava. Collection of Aluksne Museum. ANM 1701.
Artūrs Kļava. Letter to the Aluksne Museum, December 21, 1961.
Related timeline
Related objects
Memorial stone to the liberators of Alūksne
Located in Alūksne, at the intersection of Helēnas and Alsviķu streets.
The memorial stone was unveiled on May 29, 1999, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Alūksne. The stone forging was performed by the sculptor Ainārs Zelčs.
On March 31, 1919, a Northern Latvian brigade was founded in Tartu to liberate Vidzeme and Latgale. The brigade consisted of the combined 1st Valmiera and 2nd Cēsis Infantry Regiment, later also the Northern Latvian Partisan Regiment, two cavalry squadrons and two artillery batteries. On May 26, these forces occupied Valmiera, but on May 27, the 1st Valmiera Infantry Regiment together with the 2nd Estonian Cavalry Regiment attacked in the direction of Alūksne. The Bolsheviks were unable to repel further attacks and on May 29, 1919, Aluksne was liberated.
Memorial stone to the Finnish Volunteer Regiment "Boys of the North"
Located in Alūksne, Jāņkalna Street 52, near Alūksne Narrow Gauge Railway Station.
On February 23, 2019, to mark the centenary of the Latvian War of Independence, a special memorial was created at the initiative of the Association of Independence Fighting Traditions (Finland) to honor the fallen Finnish volunteers, with a special boulder and information board. The memorial stone to Alūksne was removed from the Salpa line in Finland, which was built in 1940-1944. to protect the eastern border of Finland. The 1,200 km long Salpa line is one of the most important lines of defense in independent Finland, as well as one of the strongest and best-preserved defenses of its kind in Europe since World War II.
The stone brought to Aluksne symbolizes the struggle for independence of two nations - the Finns and the Latvians. A group of Finnish volunteers "Northern Boys" went to help Latvians protect the freedom of the new Latvian state. On February 21, 1919, the "Northern Boys" took part in fierce battles around Alūksne (Marienburg). After a five-hour battle at Alūksne railway station, the Finns occupied Alūksne. 23 Finnish volunteers were killed and many injured in the fight.
Monument to the soldiers of Anna Parish who died in the First World War and the Latvian Liberation War
Located in the central part of Anna parish Ezeriņi cemetery.
In the cemetery, where the burials have been made since 1925, there is a monument to the soldiers of Anna Parish who died in the First World War and the Latvian Liberation War, built with the funds collected by the Department of Guard of Anna Parish and unveiled in 1933. Until the Second World War, the guards of Anna Parish took care of the care of the monument, who went to the cemetery every Sunday and laid flowers in honor of the fallen. On November 18, 1940, the monument was shot, and the footprints of the bullets are still visible. Today, the cemetery commemorates Lāčplēsis Day every year.
In 2004, a memorial to the politically repressed in 1941 and 1949 was unveiled in the cemetery, and in 2006 a memorial plaque to the national partisans was unveiled.
Alūksne Museum
The Alūksne Museum is located in an architectural monument of national significance: the neo-Gothic Alūksne New Castle built in the late 19th century. The museum features an exhibition named ‘Memorial Room for Victims of the Totalitarian Regime’, which tells about the fate of the inhabitants of Alūksne municipality in Siberia and the Far East, while the time periods from prehistory to the present meet in the Alūksne history exhibit ‘Feast of the Ages’. It features a separate section devoted to the contribution of the 7th Sigulda Infantry Regiment to the military, culture and public life. The formation of the 7th Sigulda Infantry Regiment began on 20 June 1919 in the Naukšēni Manor. Initially, a battle group of 22 officers and 1,580 soldiers was formed from the reserve battalion of the Northern Latvian Brigade, and was named the Dankers Division. It was included in the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Jelgava Regiment. On 23 August, following an increase in the number of companies, it became part of the 7th Sigulda Infantry Regiment. Having taken part in the battles against Bermondt, on 5 January 1920, the regiment was transferred to the Latgale front to fight the Bolsheviks. After the signing of the Peace Treaty with Soviet Russia, the regiment guarded Latvia’s eastern border. The Latvian War of Independence saw the deaths of more than 200 soldiers of the regiment, while 85 were awarded the Lāčplēsis War Order. In 1921, the 7th Sigulda Infantry Regiment was stationed in Alūksne. The regiment’s headquarters were set up in the Alūksne New Castle. After World War II, the castle was taken over by Soviet security institutions. As of the late 1950s, the castle housed various cultural institutions: the Culture and Cinematography Department of the Executive Committee, a pioneer house, a library, a cinema and a museum.
