About the Latvian War of Independence and the events of 1919 in Alūksne

Located in Alūksne, at the intersection of Helēnas and Alsviķu streets.

The memorial stone was unveiled on May 29, 1999, on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Alūksne. The stone carving work was carried out by sculptor Ainārs Zelčs.

On March 31, 1919, the Northern Latvian Brigade was founded in the city of Tartu, with the task of liberating Vidzeme and Latgale. The brigade consisted of the combined 1st Valmiera and 2nd Cēsis Infantry Regiments, 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, launched an attack in the direction of Alūksne. The Bolsheviks were unable to repel further attacks, and on May 29, 1919, Alūksne was liberated.

Located in Alūksne, at Jāņkalna Street 52, near the Alūksne narrow-gauge railway station.

On February 23, 2019, to mark the centenary of the Latvian War of Independence, at the initiative of the Independence Struggle Traditions Association (Finland), a special memorial site was created to honor the Finnish volunteers who fell for Latvia's independence, where a special boulder and an information plaque testify to the historical events. The memorial stone traveled to Alūksne from Finland - the Salpa Line, which was built in 1940-1944 to protect Finland's Eastern border. The 1,200 km long Salpa Line is one of the most notable defense lines of independent Finland, as well as one of the strongest and best-preserved defense structures of this type in Europe after World War II.

The stone brought to Alūksne symbolizes the struggle of two peoples - the Finns and the Latvians - for their independence. The Finnish volunteer regiment "Boys of the North" went to help the Latvians protect the freedom of the new Latvian state. On February 21, 1919, the "Boys of the North" participated in fierce battles in the vicinity of Alūksne (Marienburg). After a five-hour battle near the Alūksne railway station, the Finns took Alūksne. In this battle, 23 Finnish volunteers lost their lives and many were wounded.

The Gulbene Railway Station is located in the city of Gulbene. During World War I, in 1916 to 1917, the narrow-gauge railway line to Pļaviņas was reconstructed to 1,524 mm width to ensure that it can serve as a connection to the Rīga-Daugavpils line. In addition, a railway line to Ieriķi and to Sita was constructed, thereby establishing a connection with Pytalovo. As a result, Gulbene became a railway hub. The current station building by architect Pēteris Feders was constructed in 1926. During the War of Independence, on 31 May 1919, when Gulbene was liberated from the Bolsheviks, the 1st (4th) Valmiera Infantry Regiment collected a significant number of war trophies here. On 14 June 1941, both civilians and Latvian Army officers arrested in the Litene Summer Camp were deported from the Gulbene Railway Station. As a key hub, it was bombed in the spring of 1944. After the war, it was restored to its original form. An educational and interactive centre named ‘Railway and Steam’ was opened in 2018. Next to the Gulbene station is the company SIA Gulbenes – Alūksnes bānītis, which offers interactive lessons and tours. Visitors have access to the station building and platform, a memorial plaque and a monument to the repressed ones by sculptor Indulis Ranka.

The Valka Railway Station is located at the end of Poruka street, next to a set of train tracks that are out of use. The station building can only be viewed from the outside where information stands of the importance of the railway in Valka and Valga are in place. Near the station building is a memorial stone devoted to the people deported to Siberia on 14 June 1941. The station building was constructed around 1896-1897. Narrow-gauge railway lines in the Valka-Rūjiena-Pärnu section were put in place here initially. During World War I, the railway was severely damaged. After establishing the state border, the Valka Railway Station (Valka II) became a border station. In late September 1920, the special Railway Board Commission arrived in Valka. The commission was authorised to negotiate and conclude an agreement with Estonia on the transfer of passengers from the station of one state to the other. The tracks between the triangularly placed Lugaži, Valka and Valga stations were strategically important, as they allowed armoured trains to turn around and move in the opposite direction. During the Soviet period, the USSR Army used this station to deliver ballistic missiles to Valka. A mass deportation of the Latvian people to the inland areas of the USSR took place on the night of 13-14 June 1941. More than 90 people from Valka and the surrounding areas were put in cattle waggons to be deported from the Valka Railway Station without any court judgement, prior warning or explanations. In September 1944, the station was destroyed by the retreating German Army.

Located in the central part of the Ezeriņi cemetery in Anna parish.

In the cemetery, where burials have been held since 1925, there is a monument erected with funds collected by the Annas parish Guards Department and opened in 1933 to the soldiers of Annas parish who fell in World War I and the Latvian Liberation War. Until World War II, the Annas parish guards took care of the maintenance of the monument, who went to the cemetery every Sunday and, honoring the fallen, laid flowers. On November 18, 1940, the monument was shot down, the traces left by the bullets are still visible. Nowadays, commemorative events dedicated to Lāčplēsis Day are held in the cemetery every year.

In 2004, a memorial site was opened in the cemetery for those politically repressed in 1941 and 1949, and in 2006, a memorial plaque was opened for national partisans.