II WW2

Kurelininkai: už Latviją prieš svetimas okupacines jėgas

Memorial plaque at Malnava College

Memorial plaque near Malnava College, where 1932-1937 Lieutenant R. Rubenis studied in Opened in 2000

 
Memorial stone for Kurele people in Skriveri Parish

A memorial stone for the people of Kurele near the "Robežu" houses in Skrīveru Parish, opened in 2015. "Border" houses have not been preserved, there are only remnants of them.

 
"Robežu" houses in Skriveri parish

In the house of "Robežu" in Skriveri Parish is the place where the formation of the group of General J. Kurelis started on July 28, 1944.

 
Strazde manor

The Strazde manor is located on the side of the Riga - Ventspils highway and it was the location of the group of General J. Kurelis on September 29 - October 28, 1944.

Heavily rebuilt to meet the needs of the school (from 1922), it lost its original appearance and proportions during the rebuilding. Strazde Manor is surrounded by a beautiful park.

Yekeln's headquarters in Talso

On November 3, 1944, General J. Kurelis and Captain K. Upelnieks held talks with SS Obergrupenführer F. Yekeln and other German officers in this building in Talso. The historic building has been demolished, a new building is being built in its place.

Former shop/police building

The former store/police building in Talsos, where 14-19 of 1944 in November, the headquarters officers of General J. Kurelis' group were imprisoned.

 
Kurelian headquarters in Stiklos

During the Second World War in 1944, the Kurelian headquarters was located in the Annahite hunting castle in Stiklos. This building has survived to this day.

The surroundings of Stikli are rich not only with swamps and forests, but also with sand. In 1897, the new Annahites glass factory started its work - that's how this Latvian settlement got its name Stikli. In 1900, the so-called Annahite hunting palace, or the building where the factory manager lived, was built right there on the shore of Lake Stiklos.

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A memorial stone for the people of Kurele in Stiklo

A memorial stone for Kurele people near Annahite hunting castle "Stiklos" in Puze parish, discovered in 1997, moved in 2023.

There is an information board with a QR code near the stone, where there is an audio guide's narration about the Kurelians.

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Memorial site in the old Annahite Cemetery

Memorial place in the old Annahite cemetery, where the soldiers and civilians killed on November 14, 1944 as a result of the headquarters and main forces of the German besieging general J. Kurelis group are buried.

Memorials to the group of General J. Kurelis and Lieutenant R. Ruben in the "Dzelzkalnu" cemetery

Memorial stones for the group of General J. Kurelis and Lieutenant R. Rubenis in the "Dzelzkalnu" cemetery in Puze parish. Opened in 1997.

The memorial signs were installed even before the creation of the Rubenis Battalion Museum.

Rubenis' battalion museum

Rubenis’ Battalion Museum is located in Ugāle. It is dedicated to the Battalion of R. Rubenis, who served and fought under General J. Kurelis in Kurzeme in 1944, the activities of the Kurelians and the national resistance movement. Museum has an exhibit on the activities of the Latvian Central Council (LCC) and its Ventspils group, as well as the LCC Memorandum with 188 signatures and photographs of signatories that is included in the Latvian National Register of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. The LCC was a joint centre of Latvia's highest political leadership with an underground government that operated during the occupation of Latvia from 1943 to 1994. It was formed with the aim of coordinating the activities of various Latvian...

Rubenis' battalion bunker and battlefields

The restored dugout of the 2nd Company of the Rubenis Battalion is located in a forest by lake Ilziķi in the Usma parish. The dugout can be viewed from the outside for free at any time. However, tours inside the dugout must be booked in advance.

The Battalion of Lieutenant Robert Rubenis was part of a military unit formed by General Jānis Kurelis, and it is known for not surrendering to the German troops and showing heavy resistance...

Monument to the paramedics of Ruben's battalion

Ārija Stiebriņa and Velta Vaska, paramedics of the Rubeņa battalion, were reburied in the Cirkale cemetery, who were shot by German Nazi army units on December 9, 1944, together with other residents, deserters, etc. captured in the vicinity of Zlēki.

According to the stories, it follows that the young women have joined Ruben's battalion voluntarily. Together with Ruben's battalion, they went from Suntaži to Usma. However, during the...

The place of collision near Chubu's house in Renda parish

The clash of the 2nd company of Lieutenant L. Znutenas of the battalion of Senior Lieutenant V. Strautnieks with the Germans took place on November 16, 1944.

 
Graves of soldiers of Ruben's battalion

The graves of soldiers of Ruben's battalion are located by the highway Kuldīga - Sabile. A road sign and a stone with the inscription "For Your Land and Freedom" are located just a few hundred meters from the road.

The battalion of Lieutenant Robert Rubenis was one of the parts of the military unit formed by General Jānis Kurelis, which did not surrender to the German troops and showed fierce German...

The site of the battle of the Ruben battalion on November 18, 1944, near Pērkoni's house

A memorial site at the site of the November-December 1944 battles of Lieutenant R. Ruben's battalion between the houses of "Vēvera" and "Dzilna" in Ugāle parish.

 
The site of the battles of Ruben's battalion on November 18, 1944

Memorial place at the site of the battles of Lieutenant R. Rubeņas' battalion on November 18, 1944, between the houses of "Pērkon" and "Mežzīļu" in Renda parish.

Karosta Military Prison

The Karosta Prison in Liepāja is the only military prison in Europe open to tourists. Constructed around 1900 for the needs of a hospital, the building was never used for its original purpose. The structure was repurposed as a place for serving temporary disciplinary punishment and was used as such up until 1997.

Powers changed but the purpose of the institution remained the same, namely, to house prisoners, including revolutionaries, sailors and non-commissioned officers of the Russian tsarist army...

The white cross and the place of execution in Karosta

The white cross and the place of execution in front of Liepāja's Karosta prison. Opened in 2000.

The place where General Kurelis's staff officers were shot

At the end of July 1944, when the Red Army invaded the territory of Latvia, the German occupation authorities allowed Jānis Veide, the Riga District Police Chief and Commander of the 5th Riga Guards Regiment of the restored Latvian Guards Organisation, to establish the "General Kurelis Group of the Riga Guards Regiment". The head of the Military Commission of the Central Council of Latvia, General Jānis Kurelis of the Latvian Army, became its leader.

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