Tērvete (liv. ''Terwenden'', ) is a village in Tērvete Parish, Dobele Municipality in the

Semigallia Semigallia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located to the south of the Daugava and to the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. The territory is split between Latvia and Lithuania, previously inhabited by the Semigallian Baltic tri ...

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 is famous for the historic

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

built for the kings of Western

(Zemgale) in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

History

According to popular legend the Semigallian king Nameisis 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 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 thei ...

. In 1335, the wooden castle ''Hof zum Berg'' Kalnamuiža was built by the Order of Livonia near to the site of the former Semigallian fortifications, destroyed by the

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

n forces in 1345. A second legend describes the story of the German crusaders slowly moving into Latvian territory in the Middle Ages, taking over tribe after tribe. Namejs, the Semigallian king, was the last to subdue to the crusaders' power. Namejs and his people left their land and went south into Lithuanian territory. Namejs didn't want his people to forget their heritage and their origins and had the Namejs Ring designed for all of his people so that they could identify each other and have a common bond. Now it is a popular ring amongst Latvians that live outside of Latvia because it shows their love for Latvia and recognition of their heritage.

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 Ages. 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.

Tērvete Air Base

Tērvete is also the site of an

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

, located east of Kalnamuiža. It is a minor airfield, probably used during World War II. It appears on American

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

Operational Navigation Charts from the 1980s, it was an even field suitable for plane landing/takeoff in case of eventual war.

References

External links

about Hofcumberge (in Polish)
in the

Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavic Countries () is a monumental Polish gazetteer, published 1880–1902 in Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns ...

Latvian airbases 13th century in Latvia Castles of the Livonian Order Populated places in Dobele Municipality Semigallia Dobele county {{Zemgale-geo-stub