Freedom Monument
Freedom Monument
The Freedom Monument (Latvian: Brīvības piemineklis) is a memorial located in Riga, Latvia, honouring soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence (1918–1920). It is considered an important symbol of the freedom, independence, and sovereignty of Latvia. Unveiled in 1935, the 42-metre (138 ft) high monument of granite, travertine, and copper often serves as the focal point of public gatherings and official ceremonies in Riga.
The sculptures and bas-reliefs of the monument, arranged in thirteen groups, depict Latvian culture and history. The core of the monument is composed of tetragonal shapes on top of each other, decreasing in size towards the top, completed by a 19-metre (62 ft) high travertine column bearing the copper figure of Liberty lifting three gilded stars. The concept for the monument first emerged in the early 1920s when the Latvian Prime Minister, Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics, ordered rules to be drawn up for a contest for designs of a "memorial column". After several contests the monument was finally built at the beginning of the 1930s according to the scheme "Shine like a star!" submitted by Latvian sculptor Kārlis Zāle. Construction works were financed by private donations.
Following the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 Latvia was annexed by the Soviet Union and the Freedom Monument was considered for demolition, but no such move was carried out. Soviet sculptor Vera Mukhina is sometimes credited for rescuing the monument, because she considered it to be of the high artistic value. Soviet propaganda attempted to alter the symbolic meaning of the monument to better fit with Communist ideology, but it remained a symbol of national independence to the general public. Indeed, on June 14, 1987, about 5,000 people gathered at the monument to commemorate the victims of the Soviet regime and to lay flowers. This rally renewed the national independence movement, which culminated three years later in the re-establishment of Latvian sovereignty after the fall of the Soviet regime.
Design
The sculptures and bas-reliefs of the Freedom Monument, arranged in thirteen groups, depict Latvian culture and history. The core of the monument is composed of tetragonal shapes on top of each other, decreasing in size towards the top. A red granite staircase of ten steps, 1.8 meters (5.9 ft) in height, winds around the base of the monument between two travertine reliefs 1.7 meters (5.6 ft) high and 4.5 meters (15 ft) wide, "Latvian riflemen" (13; Latvian: Latvju strēlnieki) and "Latvian people: the Singers" (14; Latvian: Latvju tauta – dziedātāja), which decorate its 3 meters (9.8 ft) thick sides. Two additional steps form a round platform, which is 28 meters (92 ft) in diameter, on which the whole monument stands. At the front of the monument this platform forms a rectangle, which is used for ceremonial proposes. The base of the monument, also made of red granite, is formed by two rectangular blocks: the lower one is a monolithic 3.5 meters (11 ft) high, 9.2 meters (30 ft) wide and 11 meters (36 ft) long, while the smaller upper block is 3.5 meters (11 ft) high, 8.5 meters (28 ft) wide and 10 meters (33 ft) long and has round niches in its corners, each containing a sculptural group of three figures. Its sides are also paneled with travertine.
On the front of the monument, in between the groups "Work" (10; depicting a fisherman, a craftsman and a farmer, who stands in the middle holding a scythe decorated with oak leaves and acorns to symbolize strength and manhood) and "Guards of the Fatherland" (9; depicting an ancient Latvian warrior standing between two kneeling modern soldiers), a dedication by the Latvian writer Kārlis Skalbe is inscribed on one of the travertine panels: For Fatherland and Freedom (6; Latvian: Tēvzemei un Brīvībai). On the sides the travertine panels bear two reliefs: "1905" (7; Latvian: 1905.gads in reference to the Russian Revolution of 1905), and "The Battle against the Bermontians on the Iron Bridge" (8; Latvian: Cīņa pret bermontiešiem uz Dzelzs tilta, referring to the decisive battle in Riga during the Latvian War of Independence). On the back of the monument are another two sculptural groups: "Family" (12; Latvian: Ģimene) (a mother standing between her two children) and "Scholars" (11; Latvian: Gara darbinieki). On the red granite base there is yet another rectangular block, 6 meters (20 ft) high and wide, and 7.5 meters (25 ft) long, encircled by four 5.5–6 meters (18–20 ft) high gray granite sculptural groups: "Latvia" (2; Latvian: Latvija), "Lāčplēsis" (3; English: Bear-Slayer, an epic Latvian folk hero), "Vaidelotis" (5; a Baltic pagan priest) and "Chain breakers" (4; Latvian: Važu rāvēji) (three chained men trying to break free from their chains).
The topmost block serves also as the foundation for the 19 meters (62 ft) high monolithic travertine column, which is 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) by 3 meters (9.8 ft) at the base. To the front and rear a line of glass runs along the middle of the column.[3] The column is topped by a copper figure of Liberty (1), which is 9 meters (30 ft) tall and in the form of a woman lifting three gilded stars, symbolizing the constitutional districts of Latvia: Vidzeme, Latgale and Courland. The whole monument is built around a frame of reinforced concrete and was originally fastened together with lead, bronze cables and lime mortar. However, some of the original materials were replaced with polyurethane filler during restoration. There is a room inside the Monument, accessed through a door in its rear side, which contains a staircase leading upwards in the Monument that is used for electrical installation and to provide access to the sewerage. The room cannot be accessed by the public and is used mainly as storage, however it has been proposed that the room could be redesigned forming a small exhibition, which would be used to introduce foreign officials visiting Latvia with the history of the Monument after the flower-laying ceremony.
Political significance
The Freedom Monument remained, but its symbolism was reinterpreted. The three stars were said to stand for the newly created Baltic Soviet Republics – Estonian SSR, Latvian SSR, and Lithuanian SSR – held aloft by Mother Russia, and the monument was said to have been erected after World War II as a sign of popular gratitude toward the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin for the liberation of the Baltic States. In the middle of 1963, when the issue of demolition was raised again, it was decided that the destruction of a structure of such artistic and historic value, the building of which had been funded by donations of the residents of Latvia, would only cause deep indignation, which in turn would cause tension in society. Over time the misinterpretation of symbolism also was toned down and by 1988 the monument was said, with somewhat more accuracy, to have been built to "celebrate the liberation from bondage of the autocracy of the tsar and German barons", although withholding the fact that the Bolshevik Red Army and the Red Latvian Riflemen were also adversaries in the Latvian War of Independence.
Despite the Soviet government's efforts, on June 14, 1987, about 5,000 people rallied to commemorate the victims of Soviet deportations. This event, organized by the human rights group Helsinki-86, was the first time after the Soviet occupation that the flower-laying ceremony took place, as the practice was banned by the Soviet authorities. In response the Soviet government organized a bicycle race at the monument at the time when the ceremony was planned to take place. Helsinki-86 organized another flower-laying ceremony on August 23 in the same year to commemorate the anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, at which the crowd was dispersed using jets of water. Yet the independence movement grew in size, amounting in some events to more than half a million participants (about one quarter of Latvia's population) and three years later, on May 4, 1990, the re-establishment of the independence of Latvia was declared.
Since the re-establishment of independence the monument has become a focal point for a variety of events. One of these – on March 16, the commemoration day of veterans of the Latvian Legion of the Waffen-SS, who fought the Soviet Union during World War II – has caused controversy. The date was first celebrated by Latvians in exile before being brought to Latvia in 1990 and for a short time (1998–2000) was the official remembrance day. In 1998 the event drew the attention of the foreign mass media and in the following year the Russian government condemned the event as a glorification of Nazism. The event evolved into a political conflict between Latvians and Russians, posing a threat to public safety.
The Latvian government took a number of steps in order to try to bring the situation under control, and in 2006 not only were the events planned by right wing organizations not approved, but the monument was fenced off, according to an announcement by Riga city council, for restoration. The monument was indeed restored in 2006, but this statement was later questioned, as politicians named various other reasons for the change of date, the enclosed area was much larger than needed for restoration, and the weather appeared inappropriate for restoration work. Therefore, the government was criticized by the Latvian press for being unable to ensure public safety and freedom of speech. The unapproved events took place despite the ban. On November 23, 2006, the law requiring the approval of the authorities for public gatherings was ruled unconstitutional. In the future years the government mobilized the police force to guard the neighborhood of the monument and the events were relatively peaceful.
Guard of honor
The guard of honor was present from the unveiling of the monument until 1940, when it was removed shortly after the occupation of Latvia.[1] It was renewed on November 11, 1992.[1] The guards are soldiers of The Company of Guard of Honor of the Headquarters Battalion of the National Armed Forces (Latvian: Nacionālo Bruņoto spēku Štāba bataljona Goda sardzes rota).
The sculptures and bas-reliefs of the monument, arranged in thirteen groups, depict Latvian culture and history. The core of the monument is composed of tetragonal shapes on top of each other, decreasing in size towards the top, completed by a 19-metre (62 ft) high travertine column bearing the copper figure of Liberty lifting three gilded stars. The concept for the monument first emerged in the early 1920s when the Latvian Prime Minister, Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics, ordered rules to be drawn up for a contest for designs of a "memorial column". After several contests the monument was finally built at the beginning of the 1930s according to the scheme "Shine like a star!" submitted by Latvian sculptor Kārlis Zāle. Construction works were financed by private donations.
Following the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 Latvia was annexed by the Soviet Union and the Freedom Monument was considered for demolition, but no such move was carried out. Soviet sculptor Vera Mukhina is sometimes credited for rescuing the monument, because she considered it to be of the high artistic value. Soviet propaganda attempted to alter the symbolic meaning of the monument to better fit with Communist ideology, but it remained a symbol of national independence to the general public. Indeed, on June 14, 1987, about 5,000 people gathered at the monument to commemorate the victims of the Soviet regime and to lay flowers. This rally renewed the national independence movement, which culminated three years later in the re-establishment of Latvian sovereignty after the fall of the Soviet regime.
Design
The sculptures and bas-reliefs of the Freedom Monument, arranged in thirteen groups, depict Latvian culture and history. The core of the monument is composed of tetragonal shapes on top of each other, decreasing in size towards the top. A red granite staircase of ten steps, 1.8 meters (5.9 ft) in height, winds around the base of the monument between two travertine reliefs 1.7 meters (5.6 ft) high and 4.5 meters (15 ft) wide, "Latvian riflemen" (13; Latvian: Latvju strēlnieki) and "Latvian people: the Singers" (14; Latvian: Latvju tauta – dziedātāja), which decorate its 3 meters (9.8 ft) thick sides. Two additional steps form a round platform, which is 28 meters (92 ft) in diameter, on which the whole monument stands. At the front of the monument this platform forms a rectangle, which is used for ceremonial proposes. The base of the monument, also made of red granite, is formed by two rectangular blocks: the lower one is a monolithic 3.5 meters (11 ft) high, 9.2 meters (30 ft) wide and 11 meters (36 ft) long, while the smaller upper block is 3.5 meters (11 ft) high, 8.5 meters (28 ft) wide and 10 meters (33 ft) long and has round niches in its corners, each containing a sculptural group of three figures. Its sides are also paneled with travertine.
On the front of the monument, in between the groups "Work" (10; depicting a fisherman, a craftsman and a farmer, who stands in the middle holding a scythe decorated with oak leaves and acorns to symbolize strength and manhood) and "Guards of the Fatherland" (9; depicting an ancient Latvian warrior standing between two kneeling modern soldiers), a dedication by the Latvian writer Kārlis Skalbe is inscribed on one of the travertine panels: For Fatherland and Freedom (6; Latvian: Tēvzemei un Brīvībai). On the sides the travertine panels bear two reliefs: "1905" (7; Latvian: 1905.gads in reference to the Russian Revolution of 1905), and "The Battle against the Bermontians on the Iron Bridge" (8; Latvian: Cīņa pret bermontiešiem uz Dzelzs tilta, referring to the decisive battle in Riga during the Latvian War of Independence). On the back of the monument are another two sculptural groups: "Family" (12; Latvian: Ģimene) (a mother standing between her two children) and "Scholars" (11; Latvian: Gara darbinieki). On the red granite base there is yet another rectangular block, 6 meters (20 ft) high and wide, and 7.5 meters (25 ft) long, encircled by four 5.5–6 meters (18–20 ft) high gray granite sculptural groups: "Latvia" (2; Latvian: Latvija), "Lāčplēsis" (3; English: Bear-Slayer, an epic Latvian folk hero), "Vaidelotis" (5; a Baltic pagan priest) and "Chain breakers" (4; Latvian: Važu rāvēji) (three chained men trying to break free from their chains).
The topmost block serves also as the foundation for the 19 meters (62 ft) high monolithic travertine column, which is 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) by 3 meters (9.8 ft) at the base. To the front and rear a line of glass runs along the middle of the column.[3] The column is topped by a copper figure of Liberty (1), which is 9 meters (30 ft) tall and in the form of a woman lifting three gilded stars, symbolizing the constitutional districts of Latvia: Vidzeme, Latgale and Courland. The whole monument is built around a frame of reinforced concrete and was originally fastened together with lead, bronze cables and lime mortar. However, some of the original materials were replaced with polyurethane filler during restoration. There is a room inside the Monument, accessed through a door in its rear side, which contains a staircase leading upwards in the Monument that is used for electrical installation and to provide access to the sewerage. The room cannot be accessed by the public and is used mainly as storage, however it has been proposed that the room could be redesigned forming a small exhibition, which would be used to introduce foreign officials visiting Latvia with the history of the Monument after the flower-laying ceremony.
Political significance
The Freedom Monument remained, but its symbolism was reinterpreted. The three stars were said to stand for the newly created Baltic Soviet Republics – Estonian SSR, Latvian SSR, and Lithuanian SSR – held aloft by Mother Russia, and the monument was said to have been erected after World War II as a sign of popular gratitude toward the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin for the liberation of the Baltic States. In the middle of 1963, when the issue of demolition was raised again, it was decided that the destruction of a structure of such artistic and historic value, the building of which had been funded by donations of the residents of Latvia, would only cause deep indignation, which in turn would cause tension in society. Over time the misinterpretation of symbolism also was toned down and by 1988 the monument was said, with somewhat more accuracy, to have been built to "celebrate the liberation from bondage of the autocracy of the tsar and German barons", although withholding the fact that the Bolshevik Red Army and the Red Latvian Riflemen were also adversaries in the Latvian War of Independence.
Despite the Soviet government's efforts, on June 14, 1987, about 5,000 people rallied to commemorate the victims of Soviet deportations. This event, organized by the human rights group Helsinki-86, was the first time after the Soviet occupation that the flower-laying ceremony took place, as the practice was banned by the Soviet authorities. In response the Soviet government organized a bicycle race at the monument at the time when the ceremony was planned to take place. Helsinki-86 organized another flower-laying ceremony on August 23 in the same year to commemorate the anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, at which the crowd was dispersed using jets of water. Yet the independence movement grew in size, amounting in some events to more than half a million participants (about one quarter of Latvia's population) and three years later, on May 4, 1990, the re-establishment of the independence of Latvia was declared.
Since the re-establishment of independence the monument has become a focal point for a variety of events. One of these – on March 16, the commemoration day of veterans of the Latvian Legion of the Waffen-SS, who fought the Soviet Union during World War II – has caused controversy. The date was first celebrated by Latvians in exile before being brought to Latvia in 1990 and for a short time (1998–2000) was the official remembrance day. In 1998 the event drew the attention of the foreign mass media and in the following year the Russian government condemned the event as a glorification of Nazism. The event evolved into a political conflict between Latvians and Russians, posing a threat to public safety.
The Latvian government took a number of steps in order to try to bring the situation under control, and in 2006 not only were the events planned by right wing organizations not approved, but the monument was fenced off, according to an announcement by Riga city council, for restoration. The monument was indeed restored in 2006, but this statement was later questioned, as politicians named various other reasons for the change of date, the enclosed area was much larger than needed for restoration, and the weather appeared inappropriate for restoration work. Therefore, the government was criticized by the Latvian press for being unable to ensure public safety and freedom of speech. The unapproved events took place despite the ban. On November 23, 2006, the law requiring the approval of the authorities for public gatherings was ruled unconstitutional. In the future years the government mobilized the police force to guard the neighborhood of the monument and the events were relatively peaceful.
Guard of honor
The guard of honor was present from the unveiling of the monument until 1940, when it was removed shortly after the occupation of Latvia.[1] It was renewed on November 11, 1992.[1] The guards are soldiers of The Company of Guard of Honor of the Headquarters Battalion of the National Armed Forces (Latvian: Nacionālo Bruņoto spēku Štāba bataljona Goda sardzes rota).