Carnikava ( Livonian: ''Sarnikau'', , ''Zarnikau''), previously Sānkaule, is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and the center of the Carnikava Parish of

Ādaži Municipality Ādaži Municipality () is a municipality in the historical region of Vidzeme, and the Riga Planning Region in Latvia, which consists of Ādaži and plus the administrative centre, Ādaži. The municipality is located 25 km from the cent ...

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 ...

. It's located 25 km north from

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

at the mouth of the Gauja River. Carnikava had 4689 residents as of January 2020, making it the largest village by population in Latvia ().

Etymology

The name ''Carnikava'' is believed to be of Livonian origin, with ''Sarnikau'' translating as '

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...

valley' (''ošleja'' in Latvian). In German, the name ''Koivemund'' translates as 'the

mouth A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...

of the Koiva (river)', with ''Koiva'' being a Finno-Ugric name of the Gauja River. ''Sānkaule'' was briefly borrowed from one of the names of Carnikava Manor at the time.

History

The village was first mentioned in

Livonian Chronicle of Henry The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' () is a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's Estonia and Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was written by a priest named Henry. Apart from some references ...

in 1211 as a summoning place of Livonian troops. Later Carnikava grew into a fishermen village, where in the 17th century the first breeding fishery and canned fish factory in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

was built. Due to its proximity to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

, several forest lakes, the Gauja and annual fishermen and craftsmanship fairs, nowadays Carnikava is a popular summer resort among visitors from Riga.

Heinz Christian Pander Heinz Christian Pander, also Christian Heinrich Pander ( Russian: Христиан Иванович Пандер; – ) was a Russian biologist and embryologist of Baltic German origin. Biography In 1817 he received his doctorate from the U ...

(1794-1865), researcher of

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

embryology Embryology (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logy, -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the Prenatal development (biology), prenatal development of gametes (sex ...

and

paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

, lived and worked in Carnikava in his estate. The Carnikava Manor (), built in the 17th century, was destroyed by Russian soldiers in a fire in the autumn of 1917 around the time of the Riga offensive, with the ruins ultimately demolished by the Soviet occupational authorities in the 1960s to make way for a Soviet military cemetery. Today, a column chapiter in the middle of a park in the center of Carnikava marks the heritage of the manor. Until 1992, most of the Carnikava Parish was a part of Ādaži Parish, with its western part included in Mangaļi Parish until after

World War II 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 ...

, when it was abolished and split between Riga's Mangaļi neighbourhood and Ādaži Parish. In 1992, Carnikava Parish split from Ādaži Parish, with both being parts of the Riga district until 2009, when a separate Carnikava Municipality was created. Ultimately, it was merged into the

as Carnikava Parish in 2021.

Culture

A notable symbol and long-time culinary specialty of Carnikava has been grilled

lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are a group of Agnatha, jawless fish comprising the order (biology), order Petromyzontiformes , sole order in the Class (biology), class Petromyzontida. The adult lamprey is characterize ...

, which is also pictured on the coat of arms of the parish. Carnikava lamprey has been awarded the

Protected geographical indication Three European Union schemes of geographical indications and Traditional food, traditional specialties, known as protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI), and traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG), promote ...

seal of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and is included into the Latvian

Intangible Cultural Heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. In ...

list.

References

External links

Official tourism website
Villages in Vidzeme Riga county Populated places in Ādaži Municipality {{Vidzeme-geo-stub