Vilaka Museum. Exhibitions about the military heritage of the Vilaka area
Muziejus
The Viļaka Museum is located in two buildings – a Catholic parish house built in 1913, which is significant for the cultural history of the city, and the second museum building – in the former Capuchin monastery, the basements of which are closely connected with the national partisan movement in Stompaki and the Soviet Cheka. According to people’s memories, people were kept and tortured in these basements. The old museum building houses several exhibitions, one of which shows the course of the 1920 freedom struggle in Northern Latgale, the events of World War II – the Jewish Holocaust in Viļaka and information about the families who were shot. You can find out more information about each family by their address. The exhibition is supplemented by information about the national partisan movement in Stompaki – various testimonies, photographs, and objects. Visitors to the museum can learn about military heritage sites in and around Viļaka, such as the Freedom Fighters Monument in Jashkov, which was demolished during the Soviet era and restored in 1990, as well as a stele dedicated to the Cavaliers of the Lāčplēsis War Order. The museum's exposition incorporates the sound of a World War II aircraft, as the German Luftwaffe airfield was located near Viļaka. The museum offers the opportunity to view some memories of the events of World War II in Viļaka, as well as obtain information about the German prisoner of war camp in Rači.
Susijusi laiko juosta
Susijusi istorija
Liberation of Northern Latgale from the Bolsheviks
On December 1, 1918, parts of the Red Army, based on the Red Rifle units, invaded the territory of Latvia. In order to protect their homes, families, native counties and escape from terror, the men around Balvi took up arms and went into the forests, and the first "green" groups began to form. In the spring of 1919, when the mobilization was announced, many men in the Balvi area were not allowed to fight in the Soviet Latvian army and they joined the "green" groups. Balvi, Silakrog, Rugāji, Teteru-Dūrupe and Liepna groups were formed. In the vicinity of Balvi, the activity of "green" groups became more active in March 1919.
Pēteris Supe - the initiator of the founding of the Latvian National Partisan Association
From 1944 to 1946, Peter Supem managed to unite the national partisan units scattered in the forests in an organized movement that fought against the occupation of Latvia in the Abrene district for several years after the Second World War. Pēteris Supe, nicknamed "Cinītis", was one of the most outstanding organizers and leaders of the national guerrilla movement in Northern Latgale.