Līgatne (also Lejas Līgatne) is a city in Vidzeme, on the left
bank of the Gauja, the center of Līgatne region. The city is also
called the "cave city". It is located at the mouth of the Līgatne
River in the Gauja, from which the name of the city derives.
Līgatne is one of the oldest paper production centers in Latvia.
Paper production began here in 1815 in the flour mill of Paltmale
manor, which was adapted for paper production, but the paper
factory, which still operates today, was built a little later. After
the construction of the paper factory, Līgatne began to develop into
a settlement, which acquired city rights in 1993.
Līgatne is
located in the territory of the Gauja National Park. Near Līgatne
there are Līgatne nature trails - a forest massif with more than 5
km long trails and paths for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as
for horseback riding, where wild animals and birds typical of the
Latvian fauna can be observed in the aviaries. There is also a ferry
across the Gauja in Līgatne. In the vicinity of Līgatne, the banks
of the Gauja are rocky and of unusual shape.
The name Līgatne (Ligat) first appears in Swedish
Vidzeme documents in the first half of the 17th century. In 1630,
the book of vacuums shows that it was called the Latvian vault of a
house in the Sigulda castle district, and that was the name of the
pub, which was located by the Riga-Cēsis road, on the bank of the
Līgate River.
The decisive factor in the development of
Līgatne was 1815, when the Riga silk merchant Konrads Justus Štorhs
bought a plot of land from Paltmale manor to build a paper mill on
it.
Initially, paper was produced in the adapted flour mill
of Paltmale manor, but already in 1816 a new paper mill was built,
i.e. handmade factory (Handfabrik, also called Anfabrik or
Anfabrik). The handmade paper was produced by hand until 1871. In
1830, new so-called Construction of the main or medium - sized
factory building. The Līgatne paper mill operated in this building
until 2014.
The end of the 19th century is associated with
the heyday of Līgatne. During this time, the paper mill undertook
extensive construction - it built workers' and administration
dwellings, as well as a hospital, maternity hospital, factory club,
school, home for the disabled and a pharmacy. The factory had a
unique social model of its time: workers are given a free apartment,
electricity, heating, medical care, education for children,
provision for the elderly.
Due to the relatively good living
conditions, the time of the 1905 revolution passed peacefully in
Līgatne.
During the First World War, the paper mill was
partially (1915) and then completely (1917) evacuated. Paper
production resumed in 1921. In 1925, a paper mill village named
Līgatne was granted the status of a densely populated place
(village). In 1935, the village of Spriņģukalns on the opposite bank
of the river was added to Līgatne and it was renamed the Līgatne
paper mill to distinguish it from the village of Līgatne station,
which was established at the 6 km distant railway station.
During World War II, the paper mill continued to operate until 1944,
when the retreat was partially blown up by the German army. The
damage was not severe and production resumed in 1945.
In
1949, Līgatne was granted the status of a workers' village (from
1961 - an urban village). In 1993, Līgatne acquired city rights.
Since 2009 - Līgatne district center.
Līgatne Paper Mill was a paper production company located in
Līgatne and operated from 1815 to 2016. In recent years, one paper
machine was in operation, which could produce up to 45 t of paper
per day, reaching a speed of 200 m / min; could produce up to 12,000
tons of paper per year.
History
1815 - 1915
On November
13, 1814, the merchants of Riga, Justus Štorhs and Kārlis Kibers,
rented the Patmale manor mill and a plot of land by the Līgatne
River, and named it Conradsruhe. During the year, the mill was
rebuilt to produce paper. A master of paper production and seven
zels began to work in the mill, who in 1815 made the first 1,050
pieces of paper by hand.
After the death of Dietrich Karl
Kiber (Kyber, 1771-1823), the owner of a paper mill, Kyber und Co
was taken over by his widow Margaret Jakobine Kibere and three sons.
In 1827, the manor housed 33 manors and 18 freelance Latvian
workers, 11 Russian workers, one German master and one blacksmith.
Chemicals began to be used in the production of high-end writing
paper.
In 1830, the main or middle factory started operating.
An ironing machine with copper rollers and a paper grinding machine
were used to iron the paper. In 1849, the first water
turbine-powered paper machine began operating.
In 1856, the
Paltmale manor and paper mill (Papierfabrik Ligat, genannt
Conradsruhe) was bought from the sons of Kibera for 42,000 silver
rubles by Kārlis Georgs von Grothuss, the assessor of the Vidzeme
Land Court, who installed the second paper machine and founded the
joint-stock company Līgatne paper mill. In 1863, the Līgatne paper
mill was bought by its shareholder and director Artūrs von
Freitāgs-Loringhofen, in 1864 by the Riga merchant John Armitsteds,
and in 1865 by JSC "Rīgas rakstāmpapīru fabriku kompānija", which
started producing pulp in Līgatne, until then the paper was obtained
from rags. The company was renamed "Rīgas papīrfabriku AS"
(Aktien-Gesellschaft Rigaer Papierfabrike), whose main production
plant was Jugla paper mill, which had three directors - John
Armitstead, N. Kimmel and Alexander Mencendorf.
In 1879,
Līgatne Paper received a silver medal at the All-Russian Manufactory
Exhibition in St. Petersburg. In 1876, the Menzendorf family
acquired a controlling stake in the joint stock company. In 1884,
the paper mill burned down, but within a year he bought a new paper
machine from the German company Hemmer. In 1892, the second paper
machine started operating, and in 1895, the third paper machine. In
1894, at the All-Russian Exhibition in St. Petersburg, Līgatne Paper
received the Grand Gold Medal. In 1896, at the industrial and art
exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, the Līgatne paper mill was granted
the right to display the national coat of arms on its products.
Until 1913, Līgatne produced especially high-quality paper for
important state documents.
In 1914, a factory guest house was
opened, which had been designed and built by architect and
construction contractor Pēteris Menņelis. After the beginning of the
First World War in 1915, paper machines were exported to Russia.
1921-1944
In 1920, the Latvian government allocated 20
million Latvian rubles for the resumption of paper production in
Līgatne. In 1920, Emīls Fāle, the general director of the
joint-stock company "Ziemeļu papīra un pululoses fabrikas", bought a
controlling stake in the joint-stock company "Rīgas rakstāmpapīru
fabrikas kompānija". His brother Wilhelm Fal became director of the
factory. In May 1921, production resumed the first paper machine, in
1923 a second paper machine was installed, and pulp production
resumed. In 1924, the production of crepe paper began. As a result
of the economic crisis that began in 1929, Emīls Fāle sold a
controlling stake in the Riga Writing Paper Factory Company to the
German and Belgian banker Mendelssohn in 1930. In 1936, the third
paper machine started operating. In 1937, in the production of
paper, the Līgatne paper mill reached the maximum production - about
6,200 tons of paper per year. At that time, about 100 different
types of paper were produced in Līgatne, about half of the products
were exported abroad. After the beginning of the Second World War
and the repatriation of the German-Baltics, the Līgatne paper mill
was nationalized.
1945-1990
During the retreat of the
German army in early October 1944, several factory buildings were
blown up. In February 1945, paper production resumed with three
paper machines, in the first year 421 workers produced 2,103 tons of
paper. The fourth paper machine was installed in 1952. In 1957,
1,057 workers produced 11,253 tons of paper and 2,203 tons of wood
pulp. Old paper machines were replaced with new ones in 1974 and
1978. In 1977, the Līgatne paper mill became a structural unit of
the "Latvian Paper Industry Association".
1990 - 2013
After the collapse of the USSR, only one paper
machine continued to operate in the factory. Initially, the mill
mainly produced packaging paper from waste paper, recycling about
16,000 tons of secondary raw materials per year. On November 5,
1993, the Līgatne paper mill was partially burnt down, and it was
restored with donations from residents. Gradually, the company began
to produce more valuable products: drawing paper, shell paper and
shells. The paper machine, which had an originally planned capacity
of 20 t per day and a paper production speed of 120 m / min, was
upgraded and reconstructed.
On March 22, 1997, the paper mill
was privatized and its controlling stake (74%) was acquired by the
mill's director Andris Segliņš. On August 9, 2001, it was renamed AS
Papīrfabrika "Līgatne". In 2011, the paper mill had a turnover of
EUR 5.13 million and suffered a loss of EUR 292,030, in 2012 it
reduced the production of unprofitable paper products. The factory
employed 150 people. In 2012, the volume of paper produced reached
9154 tons, including 7735 tons for export markets. In 2012, the
company's turnover was 4.49 million EUR and a profit of 10,741 EUR.
In 2013, the company had accumulated debts, the boiler house
collapsed and there were no funds to restore it. Paper production
was suspended. In August 2013, venture capital firm BaltCap sold
Jersey-registered Baltic Investment Fund III C.V. (49.23%) and
Baltic Investment Fund III L.P., registered in the Netherlands.
(8.79%) owned shares of JSC Papīrfabrika "Līgatne" (58.02%) to the
companies JSC Valsts papīru spiestuve and JSC Riga stamp factory
In November 2013, the legal protection process of JSC
Papīrfabrika "Līgatne" was initiated in the Riga City Center
District Court and on February 10, 2014, the court appointed an
administrator of the legal protection process, on May 23, approved
the plan of measures of the legal protection process. The recovery
plan is for two years. On June 17, the Paper Factory "Līgatne"
terminated the legal protection process and declared insolvency
proceedings. The building and land owned by the paper mill were
purchased by its creditor Norvik banka. On March 2, 2016, the
company was liquidated.
Līgatne cellars.
Līgatne ferry.
The Soviet government's
underground bunker - a refuge and command post in the event of a
nuclear war.
Līgatne nature trails.
Gudu limestone.
Vienkoči Park.