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Ikšķile | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Ikšķile Location in Latvia | |
| Coordinates:56°50′12″N24°29′47″E / 56.83667°N 24.49639°E /56.83667; 24.49639 | |
| Country |  Latvia |
| Municipality | Ogre Municipality |
| Town rights | 1992 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Indulis Trapiņš |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.95 km2 (3.84 sq mi) |
| • Land | 9.83 km2 (3.80 sq mi) |
| • Water | 0.12 km2 (0.05 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 20 m (70 ft) |
| Population (2024)[2] | |
• Total | 7,448 |
| • Density | 750/km2 (1,900/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | LV-5052 |
| Calling code | +371 650 |
| Number of city council members | 15 |
| Website | www |
Ikšķile (Latvian pronunciation:[ˈikʃcile],pronunciationⓘ;German:Uexküll, orÜxküll;Swedish:Yxkull;Livonian:Ikškilā) is a town inOgre Municipality, in theVidzeme region ofLatvia. It was the first capital of theRoman Catholic Bishopric of Livonia, known by theGerman name ofÜxküll.Saint Meinhard was the firstbishop of Üxküll. In 1197,Berthold of Hanover, aCistercianabbot of Loccum, was made the second bishop of Üxküll. Those days the town was the center of the upcoming crusading activities in the Livonian area. Bishop Berthold moved the episcopal see to Riga, before being killed by theLivs in battle.
According to one theory of the toponym's origin, theLivonian language word Ikšķile denoted "the ford or islet(s), i.e. a place (on theDaugava River) where it was possible to cross the river, belonging to the son of the (local ruler) Ike”. The personal name Ike has the honourable meaning ‘age, lifetime’. The Ike family had a great power in Livonia. They controlled the military and trade traffic across the Daugava at Ykescola/Ykescole.[3][verification needed]
Other sources have suggested that the placename Ikšķile translates from theFinnic Livonian words ikš-ķile (ikš = 'one', ķile = village) meaning "one village" or "the (one) village".[4]
Ikšķile is one of the oldest inhabited regions of Latvia. This is evidenced by the mound and an ancient burial ground in the present rural area of Ikšķile. By the 9th - 12th centuries there was already a Liv village on the Daugava waterway.
Building and employment of castles was an important topic in the first accounts available in theLivonian Chronicle of Henry. Henry of Livonia, an eyewitness to the events, started telling about a canon of the Augustinian monastery of Segeburg in Holstein called Meinhard. Meinhard heard stories of travelers about the great Daugava river, an area of commerce for pagan tribes ofLivs andLetts.[5]
Meinhard ventured there to convert people to Christianity. After some conversions, he built a church in the village of Ikšķile and baptized some Livonians. However, the position of the church was vulnerable to attacks, mainly from Lithuanian pagan inhabitants. After a Lithuanian raiding party attacked in winter, Meinhard and the local people hid in the forests. According to Henry of Livonia's chronicle, Meinhard pointed out that Livonians were foolish for not having fortifications, and promised people to build castles if they converted to Christianity.[5]
In 1185 stonemasons fromGotland built the castle of Ikšķile with a chapel or church. This is the oldest stone castle in Latvia and it is also the oldest stone building in the Eastern Baltic.[6] In 1186 the upperbishop of Bremen appointed the monkMeinard, of Segeberga monastery, nearLübeck, as the first bishop of Ikšķile. Under his leadership Ikšķile became the center from whichCatholicism would spread in Latvia. Both Meinhard and the second bishop, Berthold, were buried inside Ikšķile Church (Bishop Meinhard was later reburied at theDome Church in Riga).Albert of Buxhovden followed Berthold as bishop of Uexkull. He arrived at his diocese with a sizeable army of Saxon crusaders and supported by the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope.
Albert realized that the diocese of Uexküll, defended by a castle with the same name, was far away from theDaugava river to be effective in the battle. For that reason, he requests another fortification near the sea, that would be the founding of Riga.[5] In 1201, the third Bishop of Ikšķile, Albert, moved the Livonian Bishopric Center to Riga. During theLivonian Crusade Ikšķile Castle was attacked by theSemigallian troops on the left bank of the Daugava several times, and in 1203 and 1206Prince Vladimir of Polotsk [lv] tried to capture the castle.
In 1638 the municipality of Ikšķile included eight manors, the richest of which being the Ikšķile and Tīnūžu manors. By the 19th century there were two manors left in the Ikšķile municipality, the Ikšķile and Berkava manors. After the formation ofOgre, which originally belonged to the Ikšķile municipality, the area of Ikšķile parish was gradually reduced.
The castle of Ikšķile was destroyed in the 17th century, and the church (which was rebuilt many times) was destroyed in 1916 by German artillery. In 1933 a new Lutheran church was erected near Ikšķile, near the station. Due to the construction of theRiga Hydroelectric Power Plant and the reservoir, the ruins of the first stone church were preserved in the 1970s; the island on which they are now located was increased and strengthened. The ruins of Ikšķile manor, as well as a castle, are below the water of the reservoir.[6]
The head of the city government in Ikšķile is the mayor. The incumbent mayor Indulis Trapiņš.[7]
Ikšķiles government is located at Ikšķile, Peldu street 22.
Ikšķile Secondary School is a Latvian State School, founded in 1966. It is also a Junior Achievement Latvia School.
The origins of the Ikšķile School date back to 1864, when the first parish school was established under the leadership of Ikšķile. The school building is named Zemturi. About a hundred years after the development of Ikšķile School it was decided to build a new school. The building of the school took place near the center of Ikšķile, next to the newA6 highway. The Ikšķile School of theOgre district was opened in 1966. The development and growth continued, therefore additional schools were built, enabling the establishment of a secondary school. From 1989 to 1990, the school was rebuilt, and in 1990 it was named the Ikšķile Secondary School.
Ikšķile District Central Library is a library in Ikšķile, located on Peldu street 22.
The first library in the vicinity of Ikšķiles was formed and operational by the beginning of the 19th century. The first written information about the library of Ikšķile region can be found at the beginning of V. Villeruš's book "Gājums", which states that in 1852 a Reading Association with 35 members was established in the Ikšķile municipality. The library was restored in 1946, after the Second World War. There have been changes to the library over the years; in 1974, a separate children's library was created.
Source: William Urban,The Teutonic Knights, a Military History, (London 2003) 82,83.ISBN 1-85367-535-0
