Monument to the Smiltens who died in the War of Independence
Memorial site

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Located in Smiltene Lutheran Cemetery, 11 Valnu Street.

The monument to the Smiltene victims of the War of Independence was unveiled and consecrated on November 7, 1937. The monument is built of concrete and lined with Allaži limestone slabs. The monument is based on the sketch of architect Werner Vitand and the sculptor Matiss Pluck.

In front of the monument, on October 31, 1937, the remains of the senior lieutenant, Peter Kriev, a knight of the Lāčplēsis Military Order, who had fallen in battle on March 6, 1919, were reburied from the family cemetery. On November 7, 1937, a memorial plaque of black granite was placed near his grave.

Several fallen Latvian riflemen and soldiers of the Latvian Army who fell in the War of Independence are buried in the cemetery. Smiltenes ev.lut. In the church on both sides of the altar on October 2, 1927, Dean Kārlis Kundziņš consecrated 2 white marble memorial plaques.

Used sources and references:

Lismanis, J. 1915-1920. In memory of battles and fallen soldiers: memorial sites of the First World War and the Latvian Liberation Fight. Riga: NIMS, 1999
https://www.sargs.lv/lv/latvijas-neatkaribas-kars/2019-05-23/1919-gada-18-maija-kauja-kaugurciema

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