Aizpute (german: Hasenpoth) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

in western

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

South Kurzeme Municipality South Kurzeme Municipality ( lv, Dienvidkurzemes novads) is one of the 35 municipalities established in Latvia in 2021. It surrounds Liepāja, Latvia's third largest city. Its first elected municipal council will take office on 1 July 2021. Its sea ...

in the valley of the

Tebra River , image =Tebras upes dīķis Aizputē.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Tebra River near Aizpute, Latvia , source1_location = Lake Podnieki , mouth_location =Saka , subdivision_type1 = Country , ...

, northeast of

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-f ...

History

Aizpute castle ruins 13th century - panoramio

The territory of modern Aizpute was inhabited by ancient

Curonians :''The Kursenieki are also sometimes known as Curonians.'' The Curonians or Kurs ( lv, kurši; lt, kuršiai; german: Kuren; non, Kúrir; orv, кърсь) were a Baltic tribe living on the shores of the Baltic Sea in what are now the western ...

since the 9th century. St. John Lutheran church was built on the Curonian

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

. In the 13th century during the

Livonian crusade The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – in what is now Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal -sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was cond ...

, the territory of Aizpute was conquered by German crusaders. In 1248 the master of the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after th ...

Dietrich von Grüningen Dietrich von Grüningen (or ''von Groeningen'') (* around 1210, † 3 September 1259) was a Knights Templar, Landmeister in Livonia and Landmeister of Prussia and Deutschmeister of the Teutonic Order. One of the most outstanding figures of the Teu ...

ordered the building of a stone castle in Aizpute. The castle and the whole settlement became known as Hasenpoth. After the partition of Courland in 1253 Aizpute became part of the

Bishopric of Courland The Bishopric of Courland ( la, Episcopatus Curoniensis, Low German: ''Bisdom Curland'') was the second smallest (4500 km2) ecclesiastical state in the Livonian Confederation founded in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade. During the Livo ...

. In 1260 Aizpute church was built. Bishop of Courland Otto granted

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

to Aizpute in 1378. In the second half of the 16th century Aizpute experienced rapid development because the Tebra river was used as the main trade route for the merchants of Aizpute who shipped their cargo down to the sea. After the Polish-Swedish war all trade and shipping infrastructure was destroyed and Aizpute started to experience decline. During the period 1611-1795 it was under the power of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

as a capital of the semi-autonomous ''Powiat Piltynski'' (District of

Piltene Piltene (; pl, Piltyń, german: Pilten) is a town in northwestern Latvia. The population in 2020 was 909. The ruins of Piltene Castle are located in Piltene. Population Population (Year): 40,000 (1795) History *1220: King Valdemar II of Den ...

). In 1795 Aizpute and the whole of Courland was incorporated into the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

and became part of the

Courland Governorate The Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland, Governorate of Kurland (german: Kurländisches Gouvernement; russian: Курля́ндская губерния, translit=Kurljándskaja gubernija; lv, Kurzemes guberņa; lt, K ...

. During the

Russian revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

Aizpute was one of the places where local revolutionists showed armed resistance to

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

punitive units. It led to the so-called ''Aizpute War''. During the period of the Republic of Latvia, Aizpute became the centre of a district, but in the Soviet period it became incorporated into

Liepāja District Liepāja District ( lv, Liepājas rajons) was an administrative division of Latvia, located in the Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; ...

. In 2009 Aizpute became the centre of

Aizpute Municipality Aizpute Municipality ( lv, Aizputes novads) is a former municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Aizpute town, Aizpute parish, Cīrava parish, Kalvene parish, Kazdanga parish and Laža parish the admini ...

. Its current name is the Lettization of the German one and is officially in use since 1917.

Notable people

* Heinrich Blumenthal (physician) (1804–1881), Baltic German physician *

Eduard von Keyserling Johann Heinrich Eduard Nicolaus Graf von Keyserling (May 14, 1855 – September 28, 1918) was a Baltic German fiction writer and dramatist, an exponent of literary impressionism and associated with the historic region of Courland. Biography ...

(1855–1918), Baltic German writer, born at nearby Tāšu-Padure Manor *

Tatjana Barbakoff Tatjana Barbakoff (August 15, 1899 – February 6, 1944) born as Cilly Edelsberg was a ballet and Chinese style dancer. She became a ballerina in Germany. After her death, Julia Tardi-Markus, in order to honor Barbakoff, initiated the "Tatjana B ...

(1899–1944), ballet dancer *

Pēteris Vasks Pēteris Vasks (born 16 April 1946) is a Latvian composer. Biography Vasks was born in Aizpute, Latvia, into the family of a Baptist pastor. He trained as a violinist at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, as a double-bass player wi ...

(born 1946), contemporary Latvian composer *

Ingrīda Circene Ingrīda Circene (born 6 December 1956 in Rīga) is a Latvian politician, who served as the Minister for Health of Latvia. She is a member of Unity. Ingrīda Circene has been member of the Council of Aizpute. In 2002 she joined New Era Party and ...

(born 1956), politician, former Latvian Minister of Health *

Mārtiņš Freimanis Mārtiņš Freimanis (7 February 1977 – 27 January 2011) was a Latvian musician, singer, songwriter, actor, and TV personality. Freimanis was born in Liepāja, but spent his childhood in Aizpute. Career Music Mārtiņš Freimanis was the l ...

(1977–2011), musician and actor, spent his childhood in Aizpute * Anton Zabolotny (born 1991), Russian footballer

Twin towns — sister cities

Aizpute is twinned with: *

Schwerzenbach Schwerzenbach is a municipality in the district of Uster in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). The municipality was first mentioned in year 1064 as ''Swerzenbach''. Geography Schwerzenbac ...

, Switzerland *

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swe ...

, Sweden

References

External links

Photographs of the town in 2007
{{Authority control Towns in Latvia 1378 establishments in Europe Castles of the Teutonic Knights Aizpute County South Kurzeme Municipality Courland

History

Notable people

Twin towns — sister cities

See also

References

External links