Ērgļi is a small town in the Ērgļi Parish of Madona Municipality in the

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', ) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in north-centra ...

region of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

on the banks of the

Ogre An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world ...

river. It serves as the administrative center for Ērgļi Parish. Ērgļi had 2,769 residents as of 2017.

History

Ērgļi castle on Ogre river was one of the largest castles of

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

. From 1211 the area belonged to the Order of the Brothers of the Sword and later to the Archdiocese of Riga. The first written mention of a castle was in 1334. After the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

, the area fell to Poland-Lithuania then to Sweden and 1721 to Russia. The village was built around the estate Erlaa and had in 1931 331 inhabitants. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the village was in the combat zone in 1944 and was completely destroyed. In the postwar period, the place grew by settlement of industry. Until 2009, the town was the terminus of the Riga-Ērgļi railway. Railway service was provided 9 times a week until October 2007, leaving everyday at about 3.40 and leaving on rest days also at about 13.00, the Railway was then removed.

Twin towns

* Kölln-Reisiek, Germany

References

External links

Villages in Vidzeme Cēsis county Populated places in Madona Municipality {{Vidzeme-geo-stub