The beginning of Liepājas Street

The beginning of Liepājas Street before 1907

The beginning of Liepājas Street in 2014

Judging by the documents of the State Historical Archive of Latvia, it must be concluded that the first two houses were in № 8 Liepājas Street.

As early as 1825, Lewin Asurs' vodka and various Russian goods store was located on this plot.

Until 1833, the land on which both houses were located belonged to Carl von Roenne, the owner of the Manor, from which it was bought for 400 Silver Rubles by Joseph Schlosberg, who the following year borrowed money from Pastor Julius Grot for the construction of a stone house, which he also built.

In 1853, property rights were secured to Schlosberg's widow Gitte and children, but after the widow's death in 1863, her son Josel Schlosberg became the owner. He sold his inheritance in 1869 for 5,000 Rubles to Izig Bernitz, who had a grain store here in 1879, but Rosalia Bernitz owned a small items stores and a pub. Bernitz had a pub also at the turn of the 19th/20th century, but he died in 1908, and it was owned by his daughter Gittel Stender, who in 1912 sold her inheritance to Toms and Adams Zīles. In 1913, Krists and Marija Lejnieki bought it from Zīle for 8,000 Rubles.

In 1924, Lejnieki had a two-storey brick residential building with 13 rooms, a one-storey wooden residential building with 6 rooms, a stable and two sheds for wood.

In 1927, the Council allowed Krišis Jonelis to open a teahouse at this address.

In 1928, the property was bought from Lejnieki by the Aizpute District Cooperative for 8,000 Lats, but a year later it was sold to Simon Hirschmann for 8,400 Lats, who together with his son Max had a horses and other livestock purchasing and selling trade.

In the 1930s, Elias Hercenberg's grocery store was located in the brick house. Also at this address was Anna Ķivelīte's tea - food house, Ieva Bordule's knitting house and Pauls Fersters, and later Lapinsh' inn.

What was left after the fire of 1936 (see № 6) was sold by Hirschmann in 1938 to August Lining for 4,000 Lats, and it was given to Hedwig Lining as a gift on November 4, 1939.

The land plot, on which is the next - a low wooden house, was in № 6 Liepājas Street and, like the two previous ones, belonged to the owners of Aizpute Castle Manor until 1833. In 1833 it was bought by Hirsch Hirschman for 225 Silver Rubles, but in 1870 it was sold for 3,200 Rubles to his son Jossel.

In 1872, the property was put up for auction, where it was bought by Schlaume Fogel for 2,800 Rubles, and in a public auction in 1903, by Markus Kirschner, from whom it was inherited by Sprinze Kirschner in 1908.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Ansis Raudziņš Mill Pub was here.

In 1914, Kirchner sold the house for 6,000 Rubles to son of Baron Karl Manteuffel Paul.

On September 10, 1924, the Manteuffel building was completely destroyed with a sunken ceiling, without windows and doors. This was inherited in the same year by Eugenie von Manteuffel, born von Rahden. In 1925, this slum was bought by Judel Hackind for 96.67 Lats, and a new house was built in its place, which was sold in 1926 to Antonia Ida Launerte. At that address, she had a dyeing, fulling-mill and dry-cleaning industrial plant. As the company was not profitable, Launerte insured her property and, on the night of 25 July 1936, set on fire.

In June 1937, Launerte was sentenced to 7 years in forced labor and lost her rights to it. In December 1939, Launerte left Riga Central Prison and Latvia due to the opportunity to repatriate to Germany.

56 firefighters from Aizpute, Liepāja and Skrunda took part in extinguishing the fire, but due to the tight construction not only the Launerte residential building, paint shop, barn and house burned down, but also in № 4 Liepājas Street house with an extension, laundry and shed; № 8 Liepājas Street residential building, backyard house, 2 barns, where 2 horses, 3 cows, 7 sheep and 2 pigs burned; № 10 Liepājas Street wood shed.

How the impressions of the great fire in Aizpute were portrayed by the newspaper Kurzemes Vārds (Word of Kurzeme) on July 28, 1936:

„The sounds of siren at short intervals signaled a great misfortune. Usually, if the signals of siren are heard for a shorter moment, the normal citizen looks through the window and, if there is not burning nearby, feels calm to go to bed. According to the peaceful citizen, the siren calls firefighters together and that is enough. This time, loud noises made everyone to get out of bed and go to the scene of the accident. The first energetic citizens who rushed there immediately started helping. The cleverer ones organized the protection of adjacent buildings from fire sparks, which saved them from bigger accident. Firefighters who arrived quickly installed their old-fashioned pump; the horsemen went to the nearby mill pond for water. A horse hooked in front of a small water barrel in a shaft, to which another horse with a rider is tied on a rope. The barrels on the two-wheeled carriage, splashing water all around, rushing and rumbling both back and forth on the uneven cobblestones of the street. The rider shouts, urges the horse and occasionally knocks it on the hips with a hand. Barrels are unable to supply the required amount of water. People start passing buckets from hand to hand. All this action is reminiscent of fire in a village and extinguishing it. But this is a district center with nearly 4000 inhabitants!

.. the arrival of firefighters from Liepaja was impatiently waited for, their arrival calmed the minds of the troubled people.

.. The causes of the fire are mysterious and are still being investigated by the police. A fire broke out in the yard of Launerte property, where her leather tannery and dyeing house are located. The house is insured for a decent amount. In the near future, the house was supposed to be put up at auction. Large casualties for most victims. Poor inhabitants of various attics and extensions have not been insured and have been left without any belongings and funds.”

What was left of Launerte's estate after the fire was bought at a public auction in December 1939 by Leontine Hedwig Lining.

The owner of the house № 4 in the 18th century was a Rittich. In 1794, the wooden house here was bought for 500 Talers by the merchant of the 3rd Guild Johann Friedrich Kahlfeld, and in 1803 for 300 Talers by Andreas Simon, who sold it to Lewin Konrad in 1810.

At the time of the census of 1811, the butcher Lasers Asers' house was already here, but in the middle of the 19th century it belonged together with № 6 to the Hirschmann family. From them, Jankel Fogel bought it for 2,000 Rubles in 1858, and in 1879 he had his own grain shop and small items store in the same house, as well as the Behr Bernitz shoemaker's workshop.

In 1884 it was already the property of the small goods merchant Itzig Bernitz, where he traded various colonial goods, as well as tobacco, cigars and cereals. He also had a pub with a retail sale of alcoholic beverages. However, in 1887 the house was put up for auction, where it was bought by Johanna Fogel.

In 1894 the house was auctioned again, and this time it was bought for 600 Rubles by the Aizpute Credit Union, which sold it the following year for 1,800 Rubles to Jacob Walkasch, who already had a pub here a year earlier, in 1895 - "restaurant", in 1896 - Lower pub. The pub was also in 1900.

In 1914, the merchant Ernests Raudziņš bought the house from Walkasch, who had both an apartment, a shop and an inn there until the nationalization of the house.

On the right – Baznīckalns (Church Hill).

View from the beginning of Liepājas Street to the manor house before 1907

View from the beginning of Liepājas Street to the manor house in 2014

The beginning of Liepājas Street in the first half of the 1930s

The steep start of Liepājas Street was difficult for horse-drawn carriages in winter conditions, because when driving along a steep and slippery street, it was difficult to control the horses. It also posed a threat to pedestrians. When more and more cars were increasingly joined to horse-drawn carriages, in November 1931 the reconstruction of this part of Liepājas Street was finally started, which was completed in the beginning of 1932, reducing the maximum drop of the street from 12.5% to 5% and creating a fenced sidewalk.

The maximum embankment height for the road filling was 2.7 m, width 7 m. As there was not enough space for a pedestrian sidewalk on the side of Church Hill, the passage and trail shown in the photo along the northern slope of Church Hill was created. This trail started at the house № 3.

Liepājas Street houses in the first half of the 1930s

Liepājas Street houses in 2014

Compared to the beginning of the century, the houses have also changed their appearance.

From the left: № 6, № 4, № 2.

The house on the left behind № 2 is № 1 Katoļu (Catholic) Street, from there to the right - № 1 Pasta (Post) Street, and from there to the right - № 2 Pasta Street.

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