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Durben
- the smallest town in L atvia -
In summer 2001 we succeed establishing at first time to get a contact to the, till then unknown town Durben in Latvia. We had have a great luck and contacted a German-speaking family, who are interested to pick up trails of the German in the history of Durben.
Durben, the smalles town in Latvia lies in the south-west of Kurland. Durben (latvian: “Durbe”) lies 25 km from Liepaja on Riega - Liepaja highway. The town ist surrounded by gardens, carefully tended by people. The coat of arms of the town has an apple-tree on it - with four branches and seven apples, each leaf going in a different direction.
Durben was first mentioned in chronicles in 1230. 30 years later the historic Durbes battle took place on the Trumpe river. The Lithuanians together with the Kurshi in the bloodiest of the 13th century battles defeated the crusaders and the people heard the name “Durben” all over Europe. Memorial plaques at the foot of the Durben mound remind people of these days (order castle ruins can still be found here).
The oldest building at Durben is the Lutheran Church built in 1651. Not far from here you can see several buildings belonging to the oldest building styles.
The older castle near Schlockenbeck, bears the name Durben also, lies somewhere else, at the bay of Riga. |
