Book traces history of legendary Latvian stately home

The former luxurious stately home in southern Latvia, near Bauska, became a source of national pride during the first period of Latvian independence when it housed the Kaucminde School of Home Economics. During the Soviet years, there was a deliberate attempt to erase the name of Kaucminde from the people's memory. Currently, the castle is experiencing a slow but hopefully successful resurrection from its now ruined state. The title given to Grīnbergs' book refers both to the castle's unique architectural form, which is a horseshoe-shaped semicircle, and to the horseshoe as a special symbol. "A horseshoe is a beautiful symbol for Latvians. A symbol of happiness, endurance and strength. Because could a horse do anything, pull a cart or do any other work, if it was not shod? Why do I have such a line at the beginning of the book instead of a motto - "I come with a horseshoe nail"? Because "I am painstakingly going through the fate of the castle, from its very beginnings to the attempts to destroy it and up to today, when it is being restored again and there is some hope," said the author. The Kaucminde Manor House, built by the Baltic German von der Pahlen family, dates from the late 18th century, but it acquired its unique horseshoe shape in the early 20th century after extensive reconstruction. Photo: Baiba Kušķe / LSM Andris Grīnbergs izdevis grāmatu "Kaucmindes pakavs" In connection with agrarian reform following independence in 1918, the manor was expropriated from its owners, and between the wars and the Soviet occupation, the legendary Kaucminde Home Economics School operated there. During the Soviet era, it was transformed into the Saulaine State Farm Technical School, and the name of Kaucminde was purposefully erased. "The names "Kaucminde" and "kaucmindietes" [the female graduates of the home economics school] were not allowed to be said at all. They were harmful words, the words of the enemy, because for many years the Soviet government hated the concepts of "home economics", "housewife" associated with this legendary school, because people had to be oriented towards the reality of collective farms and Soviet collective farms. "These girls who graduated from this school, many do not know that they were called "white rose girls", just as many do not know what "one white rose" means, but you can find out about it in the book. And this knowledge - whether it was housekeeping, farming, gardening, houses, bees, horses, cows, birds, needlework, table setting, catering - these are things that all came through Kaucminde. These girls were very educated, and this whole movement, this whole idea had already spread throughout Latvia," Andris Grīnbergs said. After the restoration of independence, the castle came into the hands of private owners, was neglected and was close to complete collapse. However, two years ago, architect Aiva Dreimane-Ozolzīle took over the manor, and the castle has begun a slow but hopeful resurrection. The recent video below gives some idea of Kaucminde's current state. LSM.events.bind('PageReady', function () { LSM.articles.prepareVideoWithCover('vc-24425-2026-06-1380910'); });14:17Kultūršoks. Kaucmindes lēnā augšāmcelšana