Ogre, Latvia
Encyclopedia
Ogre (population 26,573 in 2000 census
) is the principal town of Ogre District
in Central Latvia
, 36 km east of the capital Riga
, situated at the confluence
of the Daugava and Ogre rivers. It has been a town since 1928.
Ogre is composed of three parts: Jaunogre (meaning "New Ogre"), Ogre (the centre of the town), and Pārogre (meaning "Ogre across [the river]" though not all of the named region is across the river).
The name of Ogre comes from the Ogre river. The Ogre village was first mentioned in 1206, called Oger in German.
In 1861, when a railway Riga
–Daugavpils
was built, Riga's residents started to build summer-cottages here. In 1862 Ogre became a health resort.
The Town's Coat of arms
was granted in 1938 and shows the beautiful river and pinewoods of Ogre.
There is a cultural centre, an art school
and a music school
in Ogre.
It has 3 Latvian language schools, and 1 Russian language school - Jaunogres vidusskola
.
The town also has a cemetery with the remains of German soldiers who died during the First and Second World Wars, or died in captivity between 1944 and 1951.
origin (угри[ugri], meaning eel
s) because there used to be a lot of eels in the river Ogre. It has nothing to do with the English word ogre
. It is said that Catherine the Great of Russia was the one who gave the river this name.
Architect: A. Siņicins
Built in 1859. In 1944 the building was blown up and then it was restored in 1947 following the Soviet standard project of railway stations.
The Pārogre railway station
It was opened on 1939 thanks to the donated building materials. This building is the unique example of wooden railway stations. It is one of few wooden stations along the railway line Riga
- Daugavpils
that has still remained unmodernized.
The Ogre Museum of History and Art
Address: Kalna prospekts 3, T. 5024345
Structural engineer: T. Hermanovskis
This building initially was designed as the detached house and built in the style of Constructivism
in 1927. There is an exposition in the museum displaying the history and the development of Ogre Town and Ogre District. Regular exhibitions both - art
and thematic ones are organized in the exhibition hall.
The Museum of Latvian Scouts and Guides
Address: Mālkalnes prospekts 10, T. 5046145
The only in the Baltic States
. In the museum you can find the information about the world-famous movement of Scouts and Guides.
St. Meinhard's Roman Catholic church
Address: Meža prospekts 1, T. 5022458
Architect: L. Šmits
The church was built in 1997. The altar, built in 1901, in the donation to the church from St. Mary Magdalene's church in Riga
.
The Ogre Lutheran church
Address: Brīvības iela 51, T. 5047915
Architect: H. Kundziņš
The church was built in 1930 in Neo-Gothic style.
St. Nicolas Brīnumdarītāja (Miracle-worker) Orthodox church
Address: Krasta iela 15
Architect: L. Kļešņina
The house "Kūrmāja"
Address: Brīvības iela 32
Architect: V. Šervinskis
Built in 1926 as a cafe and a boarding house with specially made palm tree garden. In 1928 the editorial office of the first town's newspaper "Ogres straume" was situated in this building. Also the first competition "Miss Ogre took place there. The high circles of society used to gather in this place for various social events.
Brīvības Street 12
The house was built in 1901 as a living house and a shopping centre. Then there was the Militia of Ogre District for 40 years. After the restoration (1997–1998) there is the recreation centre "The Police Academy '98"
Brīvības Street 11
Architect: E. Smurģis
Built in 1925. It was the first hotel and the restaurant in Ogre called "Esplanāde". Now the building houses The Ogre Art School and the Ogre branch bank of Hansabanka.
The monument to the victims of Communist regime
Unveiled in 1989 and it is situated on the crossing of Upes and Meža Prospekt.
The Lazdukalni dendrology park
Address: Pavasara gatve 6, T. 5067503
We can see there more than 7 000 plantations, 412 different trees and decorative shrub
s. If you want to reach the top of the hill and enjoy the beauty of water lilies
, you have to climb 100 steps up the hill. Also you can take a walk along the Purva taka (The Marsh
Path). The area of the park is 8,5 h.
An open-air stage
It was built in 1960s and various regional and national events take place there.
The bridge across the River Ogre
The authors: V. Salcēvičs, J. Mēness, T. Vitkuss
Built in the late 1960s. The only arched bridge in Latvia (94 m long and 4,5 m wide).
Krasta Street 11
Architect: E. Laube
The house was built in 1924 as a summer cottage. During the period of 1920–1930 there was a sanatorium, but after Second World War the house was formed into The Pioneer's Club. Now there is The Ogre District Prosecutor's Office.
Zilokalnu Prospekt 17
The house was built in 1927 and owned by V. Šervinskis, the architect, who designed a lot of summer cottages in Ogre.
BOVU rehabilitation centre "Ogre"
Address: Gaismas prospekts 2/6, T. 5022141
Architect: K. Pekšēns
It was built in 1927. The building joins two architectural styles - Functionalism
and National Romanticism. The author of the wall paintings fresco secco have remained untounched. They have been restored during the years 1988–1990.
The memorial signpost in honour of folk song collectors
It was unveiled in October 1993 near the homestead "Vecuteles" by poet I. Ziedonis.
The memorial sign to Latvian theatre and Auseklis
This sculpture with the words "Theatre, Auseklis, Vecuteles 1873" on it was made by P. Meļļa and was unveiled on 18 September 1990.
The oak tree planted by the Russian Empress Catherine I
It can be found near "Truču" homestead and it stands in honour of a girl, born in an indentured family who later ran away and was adopted by the clergyman Ernst Gluck and became the ruler of Russia. During the time of her ruling, some soldiers came to Ogre neighbourhood and asked for the river full of ells (Russian - "угрь"). Probably the river got its name "Ogre" when making this Russian word ("угрь") sound more Latvian and later the same name was also given to the town.
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
) is the principal town of Ogre District
Ogre District
The Ogre District was an administrative division of Latvia, located in the Semigallia and Vidzeme regions, in the country's centre. It was situated about 37km east of the capital Riga...
in Central Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, 36 km east of the capital Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, situated at the confluence
Confluence (geography)
In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where two streams flow together, merging into a single stream...
of the Daugava and Ogre rivers. It has been a town since 1928.
Ogre is composed of three parts: Jaunogre (meaning "New Ogre"), Ogre (the centre of the town), and Pārogre (meaning "Ogre across [the river]" though not all of the named region is across the river).
The name of Ogre comes from the Ogre river. The Ogre village was first mentioned in 1206, called Oger in German.
In 1861, when a railway Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
–Daugavpils
Daugavpils
Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...
was built, Riga's residents started to build summer-cottages here. In 1862 Ogre became a health resort.
The Town's Coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
was granted in 1938 and shows the beautiful river and pinewoods of Ogre.
There is a cultural centre, an art school
Art school
Art school is a general term for any educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. The term applies to institutions with elementary, secondary, post-secondary or undergraduate, or graduate or...
and a music school
Music school
The term music school refers to an educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of music.Different terms refer to this concept such as school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department or conservatory.Music instruction can be provided...
in Ogre.
It has 3 Latvian language schools, and 1 Russian language school - Jaunogres vidusskola
Jaunogres vidusskola
Jaunogre Secondary School is the only educational establishment available for ethnic minorities in Ogre District with Russian as a teaching language....
.
The town also has a cemetery with the remains of German soldiers who died during the First and Second World Wars, or died in captivity between 1944 and 1951.
Etymology
The name of the river from which this town derives its name is of RussianRussian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
origin (угри[ugri], meaning eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
s) because there used to be a lot of eels in the river Ogre. It has nothing to do with the English word ogre
Ogre
An ogre is a large, cruel, monstrous, and hideous humanoid monster, featured in mythology, folklore, and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of literature...
. It is said that Catherine the Great of Russia was the one who gave the river this name.
Places of interest
The building of Ogre railway stationArchitect: A. Siņicins
Built in 1859. In 1944 the building was blown up and then it was restored in 1947 following the Soviet standard project of railway stations.
The Pārogre railway station
It was opened on 1939 thanks to the donated building materials. This building is the unique example of wooden railway stations. It is one of few wooden stations along the railway line Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
- Daugavpils
Daugavpils
Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...
that has still remained unmodernized.
The Ogre Museum of History and Art
Address: Kalna prospekts 3, T. 5024345
Structural engineer: T. Hermanovskis
This building initially was designed as the detached house and built in the style of Constructivism
Constructivist architecture
Constructivist architecture was a form of modern architecture that flourished in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. It combined advanced technology and engineering with an avowedly Communist social purpose. Although it was divided into several competing factions, the movement produced...
in 1927. There is an exposition in the museum displaying the history and the development of Ogre Town and Ogre District. Regular exhibitions both - art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and thematic ones are organized in the exhibition hall.
The Museum of Latvian Scouts and Guides
Address: Mālkalnes prospekts 10, T. 5046145
The only in the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
. In the museum you can find the information about the world-famous movement of Scouts and Guides.
St. Meinhard's Roman Catholic church
Address: Meža prospekts 1, T. 5022458
Architect: L. Šmits
The church was built in 1997. The altar, built in 1901, in the donation to the church from St. Mary Magdalene's church in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
.
The Ogre Lutheran church
Address: Brīvības iela 51, T. 5047915
Architect: H. Kundziņš
The church was built in 1930 in Neo-Gothic style.
St. Nicolas Brīnumdarītāja (Miracle-worker) Orthodox church
Address: Krasta iela 15
Architect: L. Kļešņina
The house "Kūrmāja"
Address: Brīvības iela 32
Architect: V. Šervinskis
Built in 1926 as a cafe and a boarding house with specially made palm tree garden. In 1928 the editorial office of the first town's newspaper "Ogres straume" was situated in this building. Also the first competition "Miss Ogre took place there. The high circles of society used to gather in this place for various social events.
Brīvības Street 12
The house was built in 1901 as a living house and a shopping centre. Then there was the Militia of Ogre District for 40 years. After the restoration (1997–1998) there is the recreation centre "The Police Academy '98"
Brīvības Street 11
Architect: E. Smurģis
Built in 1925. It was the first hotel and the restaurant in Ogre called "Esplanāde". Now the building houses The Ogre Art School and the Ogre branch bank of Hansabanka.
The monument to the victims of Communist regime
Unveiled in 1989 and it is situated on the crossing of Upes and Meža Prospekt.
The Lazdukalni dendrology park
Address: Pavasara gatve 6, T. 5067503
We can see there more than 7 000 plantations, 412 different trees and decorative shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s. If you want to reach the top of the hill and enjoy the beauty of water lilies
Nymphaeaceae
Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called water lilies and live in freshwater areas in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains eight genera. There are about 70 species of water lilies around the world. The genus...
, you have to climb 100 steps up the hill. Also you can take a walk along the Purva taka (The Marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
Path). The area of the park is 8,5 h.
An open-air stage
It was built in 1960s and various regional and national events take place there.
The bridge across the River Ogre
The authors: V. Salcēvičs, J. Mēness, T. Vitkuss
Built in the late 1960s. The only arched bridge in Latvia (94 m long and 4,5 m wide).
Krasta Street 11
Architect: E. Laube
The house was built in 1924 as a summer cottage. During the period of 1920–1930 there was a sanatorium, but after Second World War the house was formed into The Pioneer's Club. Now there is The Ogre District Prosecutor's Office.
Zilokalnu Prospekt 17
The house was built in 1927 and owned by V. Šervinskis, the architect, who designed a lot of summer cottages in Ogre.
BOVU rehabilitation centre "Ogre"
Address: Gaismas prospekts 2/6, T. 5022141
Architect: K. Pekšēns
It was built in 1927. The building joins two architectural styles - Functionalism
Functionalism (architecture)
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
and National Romanticism. The author of the wall paintings fresco secco have remained untounched. They have been restored during the years 1988–1990.
The memorial signpost in honour of folk song collectors
It was unveiled in October 1993 near the homestead "Vecuteles" by poet I. Ziedonis.
The memorial sign to Latvian theatre and Auseklis
This sculpture with the words "Theatre, Auseklis, Vecuteles 1873" on it was made by P. Meļļa and was unveiled on 18 September 1990.
The oak tree planted by the Russian Empress Catherine I
It can be found near "Truču" homestead and it stands in honour of a girl, born in an indentured family who later ran away and was adopted by the clergyman Ernst Gluck and became the ruler of Russia. During the time of her ruling, some soldiers came to Ogre neighbourhood and asked for the river full of ells (Russian - "угрь"). Probably the river got its name "Ogre" when making this Russian word ("угрь") sound more Latvian and later the same name was also given to the town.
External links
- Official homepage in English, Latvian and other languages