One of the most populated cities in Latvia, Sigulda, is remarkable for its surprisingly positive demography. Due to the ancient Gauja valley and the beautiful surroundings, Sigulda is called Vidzeme Switzerland. The outskirts of the city are located in the Gauja National Park, whose administration is located in the city itself. The most significant tourist attractions of Sigulda (Latvia) are the Gutman Cave, where inscriptions from the 17th century have been preserved. Turaida Castle, ruins of the castle of the Order of the Swordsmen, New Castle, Kraukky Gorge and many other places will captivate your imagination. No matter how rich Latvia is in these buildings, the castle in Sigulda is a phenomenon that occurs almost every 500 meters. It is just a haven for history buffs. However, photographers should also stop here.
Photos of the city of Sigulda (Latvia) you will see in this article. And you will understand that there really is something to see in it.
The pearl of the Baltic forests
This is a very cozy and picturesque place. The city hosts an opera festival, various winter sports events that make Sigulda (Latvia) the main center of winter sports. The difference in height in the Siguldf ski slope is 85 m, and there are 2 lifts working there, but in summer you will find extreme attractions here: Tarzan and Forest Cat. The vertical aerial tunnel Aerodium is located near Sigulda. An airway with a rubber jumper runs over the Gauja River Valley.
Message paths
The Riga-Valka railway line passes through the city; the Sigulda station is located here. In 2012, the Sigulda station was reconstructed, and the Lyme watch was built on it. In Sigulda (Latvia), the main A2 motorway (Vidzeme highway) begins, as well as the regional road P8 Inciems-Kegums.
Etymology
There are different versions of the original name of the city. One of the most reliable options is the German name Segewold, obtained from the combination of two words - Sieg and Wald, which means “victory forest” in Russian and indicates the victory of the Crusaders and Zemgals in the battle with the Livs at Satesella Castle in 1206.
History
One of the best resort cities in Latvia, Sigulda, gained the status of a city only in 1928, but its history began a long time ago. In the XI century, the Finno-Ugric tribes - the Livs - began to inhabit the lower Gauja. The stories and documents describe the fortified castles and embankments - Sateseli, Turaidu, Kubezeli. Chronicles also glorify resistance to the German invasion of the crusaders. Seven Libyan hills are known in the Sigulda region, several grave hills were discovered in archaeological excavations.
Administrative status
The city belongs to the municipality of the district of the same name, which also has the following territorial units: Sigulda Parish, Parish Mores and Parish Alazhi. Sigulda region was established on June 1, 2003. On July 1, 2009, he included the Allazhievsky parish. The council is located in the new castle of the city, st. Pils 16. Ugis Mitrevics is chairman of the Sigulda District Council. Before him, Talis Pukitis was the mayor for many years. Vice Chairman - League Sausinya.
The leader of the parish of Mores is Zenta Bit, the head of the administration of the Alaju volost - Vija Vareve and the head of the administration of Sigulda - League Skrastin. The regional council is divided into 4 committees devoted to the most important areas of governance: finance, education and culture, development, tourism, sports and the social committee. The city council is divided into 13 committees: administrative, supply committee, housing committee, emergency committee, etc. These committees perform various functions, such as managing the district and municipal election commissions, implementing housing policies, organizing private property auctions , protection of green spaces, etc.
Members of the county council: Ugis Mitrevits, League Sausina Dukurs, Elina Gruznina, Eva Vilkins, Indres Ozolinshis, Inessa Zagorsk, Iva Alder, Jonas Strautmanis, Jonas Zilvers, Katherine Leitane, Martins Sievers, Rainis Adamsvans and Rudnis Adamsons and
Educational institutions
There are 5 preschool educational institutions in the suburbs. Kindergartens: Ābelīte, Ieviņa, Pīlādzītis, "Fairy Tale", "Sun", as well as kindergarten "Sigulda Waldorf". These institutions are now lacking in personnel, but it is expected that this problem will be resolved soon. Also, in this small town, generally comprehensive schools are quite good by Latvian standards: elementary school, state gymnasium, secondary, as well as Laurenchu primary school, which was opened in autumn 2013.
Schools
The local state gymnasium offers 5 different directions and several programs related to the field of education. For example, here you can graduate from the music school at the Sudrabskaņa State Symphony Orchestra. A number of traditional events are held at the gymnasium, which provide intellectual competition for high school students. The education program in high school, by the way, is also available in Russian. The high school is characterized by a variety of circles and traditional events. 3 programs are also available in Sigulda elementary school (Latvia), and they relate to two sports (at the choice of parents and student) and music. In addition, this school also provides a hostel. The other two elementary schools offer only a general education program, but there are also many circles here.
Universities
Not far from the city limits, in the regional district of Sigulda (Latvia), in January 2005 the Latvian Agricultural University began its work - a branch of the university known to all Latvians under the leadership of Alexander Emelyanov. This university has a rather strong curriculum; in the 2005/2006 academic year, 82 students attended it. The city also has an art school and a music school, which are located in the building of the White Piano club.
Demography
Almost 15 thousand people are registered in Sigulda, most of them - almost 10 thousand - people of working age. The population is increasing not only as a result of migration, but also because of fertility in excess of mortality. In 2007, for example, 50 more children were born in the city than was registered in the previous year.
At the beginning of 2014, 17,117 residents were registered in the okrug, and their number is constantly increasing, both as a result of migration and natural growth.
Sigulda demographic data are often included in the entire county. In 2005, 14 933 people lived in the okrug, of which 86% (12 834) were Latvians, 9% (1,395) were Russians, 2% (222) were Belarusians, and 3% (482) were people of other nationalities. After 1990, the population declined, as a result of the emigration of the population to Russia and Western countries, and natural growth was negative. Between 1989 and 2005, the population decreased by 4.3%.
If we study the data of the XXI century, we can conclude that the urban population in 2005 (compared with 2001 data) decreased by 168 people. For example, in 2004, 85 children were born, but 121 people died. Although the overall balance of migration in the Riga region is positive, it is still negative in Sigulda. Consequently, in 2005, 10,603 people lived in the city, which is 65% less than in 2004, with a density of 579.4 people / km². The main reasons for the low birth rate are (as in other Latvian countries): a decrease in the prestige of the family, career problems among poor families, low maternity, and an increase in marriageable age. Negative natural growth is also highly dependent on high mortality. However, it should be noted that, despite these facts, the population of Sigulda increased by more than 10 times between 1909 and 2000.
As for age groups, it should be said that the number of people decreased quite quickly to working age, for example, in 1996 this figure was 27.5%, and in 2000 it was only 19.1%. The age of working age slightly increased from 54.5% (in 1996) to 58.6% (in 2000). Aging is typical, as the number of people over working age has increased from 18% (in 1996) to 22.3% (in 2000).
City Library
The city library belongs to the sights of Sigulda (Latvia).
The history of the famous library is associated with the Sigulda Charity Society, founded in 1880 and renamed the Vidzeme Switzerland Association in 1910. The exact date of the founding of the library has not been established. The library of the Society is located in the premises of Sigulda Elementary School on ul. Livkalna, 12. The duty of a librarian is performed by a teacher who works for free. In 1930, the Society Library was moved to a parish house on 123 Pulkveža Briža Street. In the 30s, the total number of books was approximately 600 copies. In March 1940, the Vidzeme Switzerland association merged with the Sigulda Agricultural Society, and the library became an autonomous independent organization.
In 1921, the library of the Sigulda branch of the Rainis Club was founded. January 1, 1925 she counted 240 books. Being free, they were available only to members of the aforementioned club. The city council declared the library accessible to all readers at the end of 1927. That winter, the sights of Sigulda (Latvia) were replenished with this library. In 1928, when the Sigulda village received official status, the library, accordingly, received city status. It was located in the city council building on Auseklis Street 7. In 1928, 607 volumes were registered in the library, in 1931 - 912 volumes, in 1938 - 1600 volumes. The duties of the city librarian were performed by Janis Zuzes - the father of the graphic artist Zigurd Zuzes. After World War II, the book stock was restored. However, books that did not comply with Soviet ideology were destroyed. The city library changed its address several times in the postwar years (Pils street, 1; Swiss street, 19; Valdemar street, 3; Pils street, 8). A new stage in the work of the library began in 1992, when it was transferred to the ownership of the municipality. For financial reasons, the library was moved to the premises of the kindergarten Pīlādzītis on the street. Strelkov, 15.
Reading population
About 1/10 of the population of the city visit the Sigulda library. These are schoolchildren, students, representatives of various professions, as well as pensioners. Pupils and students are more likely to attend the State Gymnasium in the Sigulda Library and the Information and Methodological Center, which has a rich collection of several thousand volumes and audiovisual documents. Sigulda Children's Library was founded in September 1952. Visitors to the library are children and students under the age of 15, as well as teachers and parents of children. In the reading room of the library there is a large reference book: encyclopedias, dictionaries, newspapers, magazines, as well as regional materials and materials on various topics. The library collaborates with preschool institutions and schools. It also helps students learn a lesson.
The Sigulda City Library, the Sigulda Children's Library, the Sigulda State Gymnasium Library and the Information and Methodological Center regularly hold various events - meetings with writers, actors, athletes, cultural workers, representatives of various interesting professions (for example, arborists, zoopsychologists, etc.). Therefore, this library building is rightly considered a city attraction.
Sigulda (Latvia): hotels
The four best hotels in this city are: Kaķis, Sigulda, Kaupo and Kaķitis.
People stay overnight in Kakis. In general, in the reviews of people it is written that it is cozy, the staff is polite, the prices are low. It’s hard to tell in more detail, since few people remain in the city for more than a day.
Sigulda, as some tourists write, is a very overrated hotel. However, people often stop here only to spend the night, because Sigulda is one of the first places among the ski resorts in Latvia , and people have something to do in this regard.
Kakitis is a very pleasant place. At the entrance to the hotel there is a statue of a cat with which tourists are photographed. Based on the feedback from visitors, you can safely give this place a rating of 10/10.