Tukums is a city in Zemgale, the center of Tukums region. The city is located on the banks of the river Slocene. The area of Tukums is 12.9 km2. In 2020, there were 16,896 inhabitants. Railway lines connecting Tukums with Jelgava, Riga and Ventspils pass through the city. There are two railway stations - Tukums I and Tukums II, as well as a bus station. In 2019, half of Latvia's tires were recycled in this city. It is the second largest tire recycling plant in the Baltic States.
Monument to the Arta Rebellion - erected in 1975. Although the name
of the monument is "Monument to the Liberators of Tukuma" and in the
official version it is dedicated to the soldiers of the Soviet Army, the
sculptor already had another version of the monument's essence when she
created the monument. She created this monument as a symbol of Latvian
strength - in the middle of a lonely Kurzeme oak field, with the name
"Oak - branches of power". In the middle of it is a mother, holding on
both sides sons who fought on opposite sides of the front.
Durbe
Castle - built in 1671 and rebuilt several times. The castle is the only
one of the former houses of Latvian manors, where the historical
interior of the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century has
been completely reconstructed and an image of the German-Baltic culture
has been created. It is considered one of the pearls of Kurzeme
classicism architecture, which includes a landscape park and a rotunda
with the longest pedestrian bridge in Latvia.
Castle tower - it is
believed that the construction of the castle started in 1277. Only a
small fragment of the wall remains from the great castle of the Livonian
Order, while the castle tower, built in the 18th century, alternately
housed rooms for both the prison and the crown storehouse (granary).
Art museum - Tukuma is home to the first art museum in Latvia, which was
established in December 1935, but opened its first exhibition in January
1936.
Gallery "Durvis" - contemporary art exhibitions and souvenirs
from Tukum can be bought. The 18th century rococo style doors that were
discovered during its installation give the gallery a breath of
antiquity.
Freedom Square - for more than 600 years, it has served as
a market square, where peasants from near and far, fishermen from
seaside villages and local artisans come to trade. Until 1990, the Lenin
monument occupied its place in the very center of the city, but today
the square is decorated with benches for rest, gorgeous flower beds and
a fountain.
Monument to Siegfried Anna Meierovics - in honor of the
centenary of the Latvian state, a monument to Z. A. Meierovics was
unveiled in the old town of Tukuma in November 2018. Its authors are
sculptors Zane Elerte, Matīss Kalniņš and architect Liene Līce. It is
located in the square at the intersection of Lielas and Jaunas streets,
near Brīvības Square and the school where the great statesman studied.
Durbes stage - Durbes park has been used as a place for cultural events
for a long time. Ligo festival was held there to cultivate local social
life. In 1928, poet Rainis, President Gustavs Zemgals and other high
state officials participated in the first song festival of Tukuma region
as guests of honor. In 1957, the Durbe stage was destroyed in a big
storm, in 1963, the wooden structure of the Durbe stage, visible today,
was built.
The name of the city is derived from the Baltic Finnish languages: either from the Tukku magi (modern Liv: Tukā mō), which can be interpreted as "a row of hills" or "heaps of piles", or, according to another hypothesis, the place name is derived from the Liv words for tiram maa - " end of the earth ".
In the 11th-12th centuries, on the site of the current city there was
a Liv settlement. The name Tuckemen was first mentioned in sources in
1253, when an agreement was concluded on the division of lands between
the Courland bishopric and the Livonian Order. In 1299, German knights
built here the fortified castle of Tuckum (German: Tuckum), which later
served as the residence of the Herrmeisters of the Livonian Order. The
first news of a settlement near the castle dates back to 1445.
After the liquidation of the Order in 1561, the castle was transferred
by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the form of a fief to the Duke
of Courland. At that time there was a large settlement near the castle.
The main city attraction of the city is the Pils (Castle) tower,
left over from the castle of the Livonian Order (13th century). During
its existence, the tower served as a stable, warehouse and prison, and
since 1995 it has housed a museum of the history of the city.
At
the end of the 19th century, Tukkum was a county town in the Courland
province of the Russian Empire, which had 7,542 inhabitants (a
significant part of them were Jews - according to the 1897 census -
2,561 people). The city had an Orthodox church, a Lutheran church (16th
century), a Roman Catholic church and a synagogue. There were 11
educational institutions (including a state-owned Jewish men's school
and a Talmud Torah). Trade was assessed by the editors of the Brockhaus
and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary as insignificant. There were 8 small
factories and factories (including a malt factory). Two miles from the
city there were two mineral springs.
In 1905, an armed uprising
broke out in Tukums, which was suppressed by troops.
During the
Great Patriotic War, on June 27, 1941, it was occupied by Nazi troops.
Liberated on July 30, 1944 by troops of the 1st Baltic Front during
the Siauliai operation:
3rd Guards Mechanized Corps (Lieutenant
General of Tank Forces Viktor Timofeevich Obukhov) - 8th Guards
Mechanized Brigade (Colonel Semyon Davidovich Kremer).
Occupied
for the second time on August 21, 1944. Liberated on May 8, 1945 by
troops of the Leningrad Front during the blockade of the enemy Courland
group:
67th Army - 196th Rifle Division (Colonel Parshukov Nikolai
Vasilievich).
The Tukuma branch of the University of Latvia (before that the Riga
School of Pedagogy and Educational Management) is located in Tukuma.
There are also five comprehensive schools operating in the city. One of
them is the State Gymnasium (Tukuma Raini State Gymnasium), two high
schools (Tukuma 2nd High School and Tukuma 3rd High School) and one
evening and correspondence school (Tukuma Evening and Correspondence
High School), as well as two primary schools (Tukuma E.Birznieka- Upīša
1st elementary school and Tukuma boarding elementary school).
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pre-school educational institutions take care of the youngest residents
of Tukum. In addition to these educational institutions, Tukuma Music
School and Tukuma Art School also operate here, where students can
participate in extracurricular activities. Sports lessons are offered by
the Tukuma Sports School.
The House of Culture, which is a multifunctional cultural institution
of the municipality, was operating in Tukuma, the main goal of which is
to ensure access to culture and art and lifelong education for the
residents of the city and region. It carries out economic and
administrative work, organizes classes of amateur art collectives, as
well as implements events and other activities of the cultural center,
based both on the traditions accumulated over the years and thinking
about the future development of the city and cultural center.
The
Tukuma Museum is a cultural museum, which has an outstanding collection
of the interiors of manor houses of the era of Latvian modern art and
historicism, evidence of the cultural history of Tukuma, Engure,
Jaunpils, Kandava counties, including a collection of ethnographic
costumes and textiles from these counties, which will be supplemented
mainly in the form of donations. Museum expositions, art, history and
ethnography exhibitions, educational programs, continuing education
courses and cultural events, a wide range of scientific and popular
scientific publications are created as a result of research work and
cooperation with many Latvian museums and other research and memory
institutions.
The Tukuma library is a place of culture,
education, information acquisition and self-education. It ensures the
systematization of information sources, as well as the availability of
printed works, electronic sources and other documents to citizens. The
library provides residents with more than 73,800 printed works, 90
periodicals, free access to the Internet and databases created and
subscribed to by the library.
Various business sectors are located in Tukuma county by territory.
The two main industrial areas are Tukums and Pūre. The service and trade
area is located in the city of Tukuma. Agricultural and logging areas
cover almost the rest of the county.
The city of Tukuma is also
conveniently located from a logistical point of view, as the city is
located a few kilometers from the A10 highway (Riga - Ventspils).
Distance to Riga – 66 km, Ventspils – 125 km, Liepaja – 168 km, Jelgava
– 54 km. A railway runs through the city, on which passenger trains
regularly run to Riga and Jūrmala, as well as cargo transportation.
Another important infrastructure object is the airport - Jurmala
Airport. The airport is located approximately 5 km from the border of
Tukum.
The largest companies in Tukuma are "AS Tukuma piens",
"SIA Skonto Plan Ltd", "SIA Skonto būve", "SIA Dekšni", "SIA CSK Steel",
"AS Tukuma strame", "SIA Vītoli AMI" and "SIA Telms". .
A Sports School, founded in 1954, operated in Tukuma. It has 6
professional orientation programs: basketball, shooting, athletics,
volleyball, soccer and artistic gymnastics.
The city also has an
ice hall with a 58 x 28 m ice field and stands with 820 seats for
spectators and the same number of parking spaces. The ice rink meets the
requirements for holding training and competitions in hockey and figure
skating. The young hockey players and figure skaters of "Hockey Club
Tukums", as well as amateur hockey teams, regularly train in the hall
every day, local hockey championship games are held, and the public ice
rink operates in the morning hours of weekdays and on weekends.
There are such sports clubs in Tukum as FK Tukums 2000, HK Tukums
(hockey), BK Tukums (basketball), Tukums Athletics Club and Cycling Club
"KMK".
Born in Tukum:
Artis Kampars (1967), politician;
Ádolfs
Bliodnieks (1889—1962), politician;
Bruno Kalniņš (1899—1990),
politician;
Harijs Dīkmanis (1895—1979), Latvian yoga teacher and
translator of Indian spiritual texts into Latvian.
Edgars Andersons
(1920–1989), Latvian historian;
Dainis Kula (1959), track and field
athlete;
Ingeborga Levits (1926—2008), Latvian poet and editor;
Georg Andrejevs (1932-2022), doctor and politician;
Igor Chinnov
(Чиннов, 1909—1996), Russian poet;
Johannes Gottlieb Groške
(1760-1828), court physician of Duke Peter, professor of physics and
natural sciences at Peter's Academy;
Ieva Zunda (1978), track and
field athlete;
Ints Ķuzis (1962—2022), police general, head of the
State Police;
Evgeniis Kosmachevs (1988), football player;
Kristaps Blanks (1986), football player;
Madara Botman (1987),
actress and costume designer;
Maia Doveik (1980), actress;
Mārtiņš
Egle (1980), wrestler;
Mārtiņš Kukulis (1984), boxer;
Mārtiņš
Staķis (1979), politician and businessman;
Modris Liepiņš (1966),
track and field athlete;
Mordechai Nurok (1879-1962), politician;
Rihards Lomažs (1996), basketball player;
Ritvars Rugins (1989),
football player;
Samantha Tina (1989), singer;
Sonora Vaice
(1969), opera singer;
George Tikmers (1957), sports organizer