Lēdurga is a village and the center of

Lēdurga Parish Lēdurga Parish () is an administrative unit of Sigulda Municipality in the Vidzeme 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, alo ...

Sigulda Municipality Sigulda Municipality () is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2003 by merging Sigulda town, Sigulda Parish and More Parish. In 2009 it absorbed Allaži parish, too; the administrative centre being Sigulda. The po ...

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 ...

. The village is located on both sides of the river Aģe, 18 km away from the municipality of Ragana and 64 km 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 ...

, the capital of Latvia. Lēdurga consists of parish administration, elementary school, House of Culture, sport center, Lēdurga's Lutheran church, dendrological park and open-air stage. Lēdurga is the birthplace of the

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

activist and writer

Garlieb Merkel Garlieb Helwig Merkel ( in Lēdurga Parish (now Sigulda Municipality), Kreis Riga – in Riga) was a Baltic Germans, Baltic German writer and activist and an early Estophile and Latvians, Lettophile. Merkel was born into the family of a rur ...

, the author of ''Die Letten'' ("The Latvians"), the book which first drew attention to the

Latvians Latvians () are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common Latvian language ...

as more than just peasants.

History

Lēdurga (''Letthegore, Lettegore, Ledegore'') was first mentioned in the

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 connection with events in the spring of the year 1211, when the Ridalians and the people of

Saaremaa Saaremaa (; ) is the largest and most populous island in Estonia. Measuring , its population is 31,435 (as of January 2020). The main island of the West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago), it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hi ...

destroyed Bishop Albert's Livonian lands, including Lēdurga.

William of Modena William of Modena ( – 31 March 1251), also known as ''William of Sabina'', ''Guglielmo de Chartreaux'', ''Guglielmo de Savoy'', ''Guillelmus'', was an Italian clergyman and papal diplomat.

, the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

, conducted Christian worship for Livonians in the village church in 1225. Lēdurga was joined with

Turaida Turaida (, ; meaning ''Thor's garden'' in Livonian) is a part of Sigulda in the Vidzeme Region of Latvia. Its most famous site is the Brick Gothic Turaida Castle. In 1212, a peace treaty was signed in Turaida between the Estonian tribes and ...

in a single Lēdurga-Turaida congregation municipality in 1589. The village is formed around the center of the former Lēdurga manor ("Loddiger"). In 1932 Lēdurga obtained densely populated village status.

Education

The elementary school was established in 1871. On 21 July 1998 the school was renamed the Garlieb Merkel Elementary School to honor the

writer Garlieb Helwig Merkel since Lēdurga was his birthplace in 1769. The school has its own flag, symbol, and song by J. Ozoliņa and L. Niklase titled ''Skolas Gadi'' ("School years"). Skolas-bilde

Nature

Waters

The River Aģe flows through the middle of the village, starting from the nearby Lake Aģe and ending in 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 ...

, near the city of Skulte. In the old days, the Aģe was used as an internal traffic and trade route. In the 13th century, the

mentioned the Aģe under the name of Adya ( Livonian for "edge") in stories about Livonian battles against German intruders. In the village center next to the Lēdurga manor house, a dam was built, forming a pond that in the past was used for running the watermill. The watermill buildings and dams are still preserved but no longer in use.

Lēdurga dendrological park

Lēdurga dendrological park was established in 1973 by one person, Arvīds Janitens (1923–2009). A short documentary about him and the park was made in Latvian. In 1993 dendrologists of the National Botanical Garden recognized 939 tree and bush species and varieties, but currently, the number exceeds a thousand. Many events such as

Walpurgis Night Walpurgis Night (), an abbreviation of Saint Walpurgis Night (from the German language, German ), also known as Saint Walpurga's Eve (alternatively spelled Saint Walburga's Eve) and Walpurgisnacht, is the Vigil#Eves of religious celebrations ...

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

, Midsummer eve and others are celebrated in the park.

Culture

The house of culture

Lēdurga's house of culture was built in 1973. In the same year the building was burned down by an accidental fire. Reconstruction took 9 years. In 1981 the heating in the building was provided and the first

kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...

"Draudzība" ("Friendship") events took place. The official opening took place on 29 May 1982. Previous managers were Karolis Treijs, Baiba Adamoviča, Didzis Trūbs, Dzintra Sapule, Mareks Motte; from January 2007 the manager has been Ilze Runce. Many amateur collectives practise and perform in the building: traditional dance groups, choirs, and the folklore band "Putni".

Folklore band "Putni"

The folklore band "Putni" ("Birds") is based in Lēdurga's house of culture. Singers, musicians, dancers, and storytellers practise their ethnic culture and traditional performing arts. Participants are aged between 3 and 50, joining together many generations. "Putni" is widely known in the whole of Latvia. During their performances, historical costumes from the 12th century are always worn. The costumes are handmade by the band members and their leader Ilze Kļaviņa. Metienins

References

{{Authority control Sigulda Municipality Riga county