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Riga The Freedom Monument.
The monument was built between 1931 and 1935 during the first
independence of Latvia to commemorate the Latvian soldiers killed
in the Latvian Independence War (1918-1920).
I have only once been in Riga for several days, it is a beautiful
city especially the freedom monument on the square of freedom makes
a big impression on me. To learn more about this monument, I made
this earth cache. (Source Wikipedia.)
This monument is located in downtown Riga, Latvia, Brìvìbas street,
dedicated "To Fatherland and Freedom".
The Monument was executed by Kârlis Zâle (1888-1942), a well-known
Latvian sculptor. Ernests Shtalbergs was the architect . The 42
meter high monument is topped by a Liberty Statue - a woman with
three stars symbolizing regional parts of Latvia: Kurzeme, Vidzeme
and Latgale. At the base of the monument are several sculptural
groups symbolizing different values - Labor, Strength of the
Nation, Spiritual Strength, Freedom, Family; relief on the lowest
block represents historical events.
The Freedom Monument was unveiled in 1935 during Latvia's brief
period of independence between the wars. Known locally as ?????, it
was a powerful symbol of anti-Soviet resistance serving as the
focus of gatherings in the late 1980's during early stages of the
drive for independence. It is puzzling why the Soviets did not tear
it down, but certainly the natives' predictable wrath was a
deterent. Now it is a shrine to national independence.
People still bring flowers to the monument which are tended to by
the city's elderly women. During the Soviet era, a running joke,
not completely untrue, was that the monument was a travel agency,
because anyone who dared place flowers at its base got a free,
one-way ticket to faraway Siberia.
Following 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 (who was born in Riga and had been pupil of Karlis Zale) is
sometimes credited with the rescue of the monument, possibly
because she considered it to be of the highest 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 metres in height, winds around the base of the monument
between two travertine reliefs 1.7 metres high and 4.5 metres wide,
"Latvian riflemen" and "Latvian people: the Singers", which
decorate its 3 metres thick sides. Two additional steps form a
round platform, which is 28 metres 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 metres high, 9.2 metres
wide and 11 metres long, while the smaller upper block is 3.5
metres high, 8.5 metres wide and 10 metres 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" ( 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" (depicting an
ancient Latvian warrior standing between two kneeling modern
soldiers), a dedication by the Latvian writer Karlis Skalbe is
inscribed on one of the travertine panels: For Fatherland and
Freedom ( Latvian: Tevzemei un Brivibai). On the sides the
travertine panels bear two reliefs: "1905" (Latvian: 1905.gads in
reference to the Russian Revolution of 1905), and "The Battle
against the Bermontians on the Iron Bridge" ( Latvian: Cina 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" (
Latvian: Gimene) (a mother standing between her two children) and
"Scholars" (Latvian: Gara darbinieki). On the red granite base
there is yet another rectangular block, 6 metres high and wide, and
7.5 metres long, encircled by four 5.5–6 meters high gray
granite sculptural groups: "Latvia" ( Latvian: Latvija),
"Lacplesis" ( English: Bear-Slayer, an epic Latvian folk hero),
"Vaidelotis" ( a Baltic pagan priest) and "Chain breakers" (
Latvian: Važu raveji) (three chained men trying to break free
from their chains).
The topmost block serves also as the foundation for the 19 metres
high monolithic travertine column, which is 2.5 metres by 3 metres
at the base. To the front and rear a line of glass runs along the
middle of the column. The column is topped by a copper figure of
Liberty , which is 9 metres 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.
Construction.
The idea of building a memorial to honor soldiers killed in action
during the Latvian War of Independence first emerged in the early
1920s. On July 27, 1922, the Prime Minister of Latvia, Zigfrids
Anna Meierovics, ordered rules to be drawn up for a contest for
designs of a "memorial column". The winner of this contest was a
scheme proposing a column 27 metres tall with reliefs of the
official symbols of Latvia and bas-reliefs of Krišjanis
Barons and Atis Kronvalds. It was later rejected after a protest
from 57 artists. In October 1923, a new contest was announced,
using for the first time the term "Freedom Monument". The contest
ended with two winners, and a new closed contest was announced in
March 1925, but, due to disagreement within the jury, there was no
result.
Finally in October 1929, the last contest was announced. The winner
was the design "Shine like a star!" (Latvian: "Mirdzi ka
zvaigzne!") by sculptor Karlis Zale, who had had success in the
previous contests as well. After minor corrections made by the
author and supervising architect Ernests Štalbergs,
construction began on November 18, 1931. Financed by private
donations, the monument was erected by the entrance to the old
town, in the same place where the previous central monument of
Riga, a bronze equestrian statue of the Russian Emperor Peter the
Great, had stood. It was calculated in 1935, the year when the
monument was unveiled, that in four years of construction 308,000
man-hours were required to work the stone materials alone: 130
years would have been required if one person were to carry out the
work using the most advanced equipment of the time. The total
weight of materials used was about 2,500 tons: such a quantity of
materials would have required about 200 freight cars if transported
by railway.
Materials used on the Monument of freedom.
It was travertine from Italy and granite from Finland that were
chosen for the erection of the monument.
Central part of the monument Granite (Nystad) sculptures
“lacplesis”and “Latvia”
Travertine relief “1905”Granite (Balmoral) sculptural
groups “Sentinels of Motherland”
Travertine is a porous limestone widely used in the architecture of
southern Europe, especially in Italy. World famous bildings are
made of this rock, such as St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican,
the justicePalace in Rome etc. It came from quarries near Tivoli
not far from Rome.
Granite, because of its strength and suitability for cutting and
carving. Granite froms when magma cools and crystallises deep in
the earth. Granite for the Monument of Freedom was mined in
Finland. The Grey granite came from Lypkki and the reddish one from
Vehma in South-Western Finland.
Restoration
A closeup view of the copper figure of Liberty lifting three gilded
stars.The monument is endangered by the climate (which has caused
damage by frost and rain) and by air pollution (see note 1).
Although in 1990 the area around the monument was pedestrianized,
there are still three streets carrying traffic around it. High
concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide have been
recorded near the monument, which in combination with water cause
corrosion of the fabric of the monument. In addition, water has
caused cracking of the reinforced concrete core and rusting of its
steel reinforcements and the fastenings of the monument, which also
have been worn out by constant vibrations caused by traffic. The
porous travertine has gradually crumbled over time and its pores
have filled with soot and particles of sand, causing it to blacken
and providing a habitat for small organisms, such as moss and
lichens. Irregular maintenance and the unskillful performance of
restoration work have also contributed to the weathering of the
monument. To prevent its further decay some of the fastenings were
replaced with polyurethane filler and water repellent was applied
to the monument during the restoration in 2001. It was also
determined that maintenance should be carried out every 2
years.
The monument was restored twice during the Soviet era (1962 and
1980–1981). In keeping with tradition the restorations and
maintenance after the renewal of Latvia's independence are financed
partly by private donations. The monument underwent major
restoration in 1998–2001. During this restoration the statue
of Liberty and its stars were cleaned, restored and gilded anew.
The monument was formally re-opened on July 24, 2001. The
staircase, column, base and inside of the monument were restored,
and the stone materials were cleaned and re-sealed. The supports of
the monument were fixed to prevent subsidence. Although the
restorers said at the time that the monument would withstand a
hundred years without another major restoration, it was discovered
a few years later that the gilding of the stars was damaged, due to
the restoration technique used. The stars were restored again
during maintenance and restoration in 2006; however, this
restoration was rushed and there is no warranty of its
quality.
note 1.
Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is
unusually acidic, i.e. elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH).
It has harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and
infrastructure through the process of wet deposition. Acid rain is
caused by emissions of compounds of ammonia, carbon, nitrogen, and
sulfur which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to
produce acids. Governments have made efforts since the 1970's to
reduce the production of sulfuric oxides into the Earth's
atmosphere with positive results. However, it can also be caused
naturally by the splitting of nitrogen compounds by the energy
produced by lightning strikes, or the release of sulfur dioxide
into the atmosphere by phenomena of volcano eruptions. (visit link)
Acid rain can also damage buildings and historic monuments,
especially those made of rocks such as limestone and marble
containing large amounts of calcium carbonate. Acids in the rain
react with the calcium compounds in the stones to create gypsum,
which then flakes off.
CaCO3 (s) + H2SO4 (aq) CaSO4 (aq) + CO2 (g) + H2O (l)
The effects of this are commonly seen on old gravestones, where
acid rain can cause the inscriptions to become completely
illegible. Acid rain also increases the oxidation rate of metals,
in particular copper and bronze.
Questions and Logging requirements:
1. Take a photo of yourself or a team member with GPS in hands with
the Freedom Monument on the background? Post this photo to your log
and send the answer to the Questions by E-mail.
Please do not place any photo with the answer in the log and e-mail
me the answer before logging your find.
2. What is the name given by inhabitants to the Riga Freedom
monument? (lady name)
3. The Freedom Monument replaced a old statue, Which statue was
it?
4. Near the Freedom Monument is a clock, what name is written on
this clock.?
5. Name of process that harms infrastructure by acid rain? (not the
result)
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Find...
Closeup Nemot vara skaitlis Liberty
A closeup view of the copper figure of Liberty
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Current Time:
Last Updated: on 2/6/2012 11:19:17 AM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) (7:19 PM GMT)
Rendered From:Unknown
Coordinates are in the WGS84 datum
