Gulbene District

Gulbene District (Latvian: Gulbenes rajons) was an administrative division of Latvia, located in the Vidzeme region, in the country's north-east. It was organized into a city and thirteen parishes, each with a local government authority. The main city in the district was Gulbene.

In Gulbene, a Baltic single passage narrow-gauge railroad, Gulbene-Aluksne, was renovated and started to operate in 2005.

Gulbene has a basketball team, ASK/Buki-Gulbene.

Districts were eliminated during the administrative-territorial reform in 2009.

Cities and parishes of the Gulbene District

References

Coordinates: 57°10′21″N 26°45′40″E / 57.17250°N 26.76111°E / 57.17250; 26.76111

Gulbene

Found webpage,

Gulbene ( pronunciation ; German: Schwanenburg) and the surrounding Gulbene municipality are located in North-eastern Latvia and adjoin the Alūksne, Balvi, Madona, Cēsis and Valka regions.

The area of this region is 11.898 km², with a population of 29,797 inhabitants (10,015 urban, 19,782 rural population).

History

Historical documents first mention the 1224 land division act between the Order of the Sword Brothers and the Bishop of Riga. In the 14th century the Archbishop of Riga built a stone castle around which a populated area was formed.

Vecgulbene (Old Gulbene) estate complex was built in the middle and second half of the 19th century. The most significant buildings are the White Palace (Brivibas St. 12), the Red Palace (Parka St. 1) and the magazine granary (Brivibas St. 9). Both palaces have been destroyed and rebuilt several times. Since 1924 the elementary school of the city occupies the Red Palace.

After the construction of the Stukmani to Valka narrow-gauge railway in 1903 and subsequent broad-gauge line construction during World War I, Vecgulbene was established as an important railway junction, and in 1920 it was given the rights of a small village. During the first period of Latvian independence, besides those employed by the railways, small business, trades and crafts were the most important economic activities in the town. After World War II, during the Soviet occupation, Gulbene initially became a district, and later, in 1950, a regional centre. In the 1960s and 1970s branches of several major industrial companies were established in the city. Local enterprise was mainly involved with wood processing.