Tervete
Encyclopedia
Tērvete is a village in Latvia
and the administrative centre of Tērvete municipality
. Famous for the historic hillfort built for the kings of Western Zemgale in the Middle Age
s.
king Namejs made a ring called the "namejs" so he could be identified by his family. But his enemies got hold of this information and sought the ring to kill the king (during a war) to have victories. The villagers also created these rings in order to protect the King. And for this reason Namejs is a popular ring for Latvians.
In 1287 the Semigallian castle was destroyed by the Livonian Order
of knights.
In 1335 the wooden castle Hof zum Berge Kalnamuiža was built by the Order of Livonia near to the site of the former Semigallian fortifications, destroyed by the Lithuania
n forces in 1445.
The hillfort was excavated by August Bielenstein between 1866 and 1892
The expedition of the Latvian Museum of History led by E. Brīvkalne carried out excavations in 1952-53 and 1954–59
. Although it appears on American Department of Defense
Operational Navigation Charts from the 1980s, the air base may have been demolished and could currently be overgrown by forest, as no trace is noted on Google Earth
imagery.
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...
and the administrative centre of Tērvete municipality
Tērvete municipality
Tērvete municipality is a municipality in Zemgale, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2002 by merging Augstkalne parish, Bukaiši parish and Tērvete parish; the administrative centre being Zelmeņi.- References :...
. Famous for the historic hillfort built for the kings of Western Zemgale in the Middle Age
Middle age
Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
s.
History
According to popular legend the SemigallianSemigallians
Semigallians were the Baltic tribe that lived in the southcentral part of contemporary Latvia and northern Lithuania...
king Namejs made a ring called the "namejs" so he could be identified by his family. But his enemies got hold of this information and sought the ring to kill the king (during a war) to have victories. The villagers also created these rings in order to protect the King. And for this reason Namejs is a popular ring for Latvians.
In 1287 the Semigallian castle was destroyed by the Livonian Order
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order and a member of the Livonian Confederation from 1435–1561. After being defeated by Samogitians in the 1236 Battle of Schaulen , the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights...
of knights.
In 1335 the wooden castle Hof zum Berge Kalnamuiža was built by the Order of Livonia near to the site of the former Semigallian fortifications, destroyed by the Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n forces in 1445.
Archaeological excavations
In 1819 K.F.Watson declared the hillfort on right bank of Tērvete river to be the site of the legendary Tērvete castle described in chronicles from the Middle AgesThe hillfort was excavated by August Bielenstein between 1866 and 1892
The expedition of the Latvian Museum of History led by E. Brīvkalne carried out excavations in 1952-53 and 1954–59
Tērvete Air Base
Tērvete is also the site of an air base, located 2 km (1 mi) east of Kalnamuiža. It is a minor airfield, probably used during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Although it appears on American Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
Operational Navigation Charts from the 1980s, the air base may have been demolished and could currently be overgrown by forest, as no trace is noted on Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
imagery.
External links
- about Hofcumberge (in Polish) in the Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland