Rundale Palace, Latvia

 

Rundale Palace

We visited the 138-room Rundale Palace. It was built in the 1700s by Duke Ernst Johann von Biron. Numerous portraits of the Duke, his wife and generations of children were in the public rooms of the Palace. During Soviet times, the Palace was used for both a school and a grain storehouse, but it has been beautifully restored.

White Hall

Topic: Soviet Monument Removal

August, a local journalist, talked to us about the controversy around removal of Soviet monuments in Latvia. Latvia means the Land of God, and everyone wants it. This land has been invaded by German Crusaders (to turn the pagans to Christians), the Polish-Lithuanians, Swedes, and in the 19^th century the Russian Empire. The Latvian language has been the unifying element throughout history. Latvia gained independence in 1918. In 1939 the Soviets invaded the country without a shot fired. The occupiers built many monuments, usually statues of Lenin or tributes to the soldiers who won WW II, throughout the country. Beginning in the 1990s, many of these monuments have been removed, some of which are in the Occupation Museum. Streets named for Russian poets, scientists, etc. have been renamed. But there is a large Russian speaking population who objects to this “erasure of our history”, the counter argument is that “we are removing the unpleasant memories of occupation”. More info here.

Removal of Soviet Monument, August 2022

Topic: The Vikings

A Viking is best described as a Scandinavian seafarer whose was exploring, trading, and making war. The Viking period was from 750 to 1100 AD. The Viking ships were quite advanced for the age. The large ships were 100 or 120 feet long with a square sail holding 40 to 80 men. During favorable weather, they could sail from Denmark to England in 3 days.  The Vikings occupied almost a third of England and the Normandy region of France at one time. They settled Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland and sailed through the European rivers to as far south as Constantinople. Married women oversaw the household and farm, some also practiced various skills, like sail making. There were also powerful wise women, Volver, who advised the Viking leaders. Women had the right to divorce for unfaithfulness, violence or desertion. The Vikings left many Runestones, memorials to the deeds of various men. Over 6000 Viking Rune Stones have been found, mostly in Sweden. Why did the Vikings disappear? Because they became Christians when the Danish King Bluetooth united most of the Vikings under one King. One additional note: their helmets didn’t have horns.

11th Century Runestone, Sweden