Carnikava

Carnikava (Livonian: Sarnikau, German: Koivemund, Zarnikau), previously Sānkaule, is a village and the center of the Carnikava Parish of Ādaži Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It's located 25 km north from Riga at the mouth of the Gauja River. Carnikava had 4689 residents as of January 2020, making it the largest village by population in Latvia (List of largest villages in Latvia).^[1]

The name Carnikava is believed to be of Livonian origin, with Sarnikau translating as 'ash tree valley' (ošleja in Latvian). In German, the name Koivemund translates as 'the mouth of the Koiva (river)', with Koiva being a Finno-Ugric name of the Gauja River. Sānkaule was briefly borrowed from one of the names of Carnikava Manor at the time.^[2]

The village was first mentioned in Livonian Chronicle of Henry in 1211 as a summoning place of Livonian troops. Later Carnikava grew into a fishermen village, where in the 17th century the first breeding fishery and canned fish factory in the Russian Empire was built. Due to its proximity to the Baltic Sea, several forest lakes, the Gauja and annual fishermen and craftsmanship fairs, nowadays Carnikava is a popular summer resort among visitors from Riga.

Heinz Christian Pander (1794-1865), researcher of biology, embryology and paleontology, lived and worked in Carnikava in his estate. The Carnikava Manor (Latvian: Carnikavas muiža), built in the 17th century, was destroyed by Russian soldiers in a fire in the autumn of 1917 around the time of the Riga offensive, with the ruins ultimately demolished by the Soviet occupational authorities in the 1960s to make way for a Soviet military cemetery. Today, a column chapiter in the middle of a park in the center of Carnikava marks the heritage of the manor.^[3][4]

Until 1992, most of the Carnikava Parish was a part of Ādaži Parish, with its western part included in Mangaļi Parish until after World War II, when it was abolished and split between Riga's Mangaļi neighbourhood and Ādaži Parish. In 1992, Carnikava Parish split from Ādaži Parish, with both being parts of the Riga district until 2009, when a separate Carnikava Municipality was created. Ultimately, it was merged into the Ādaži Municipality as Carnikava Parish in 2021.

A notable symbol and long-time culinary specialty of Carnikava has been grilled lamprey, which is also pictured on the coat of arms of the parish. Carnikava lamprey has been awarded the Protected geographical indication seal of the European Union and is included into the Latvian Intangible Cultural Heritage list.^[5][6][7]

• Johann August Leberecht Albanus (1765–1839), lutheran pastor of Daugavgrīva parish,^[8] censor, rector of the Riga Cathedral School, director of the Vidzeme Provincial Gymnasium
• Anna Auziņa (b. 1975), poet
• Ludmila Azarova (1935–2012), journalist and poet, lived at 15 Cīrulīšu Street^[9]
• Lūcija Baumane (1905–1988), actress, theater director and drama teacher, lived in Kalngale^[10]
• Reinholds Bernhards (1879–1937), commander of the Latvian SSR Navy in 1919,^[11] ocean-going captain, hydrologist, meteorologist and geographer of Polynesia^[12]
• Friedrich Christoph Brosse (1773–1827), pseudonym Ernst Bonsens, pastor of Kalngale parish, writer, professor at Moscow University, publisher of the monthly magazine "Ruthenia"^[8][13]
• Augusts Ludvigs Otomārs Drēziņš (b. 1899 in Drunkas Nagaiņi,^[14] Carnikava, died 1983 in Sydney), Latvian-Australian painter
• Ilmārs Reinholds Drēziņš (1930–2022), civil engineer, longtime construction industry expert, recipient of Cross of Recognition(2020)^[15]
• Jēkabs Aleksandrs Dzenis (1893–1979), board member of the "Laima" joint-stock company, recipient of the Lāčplēsis War Order^[16]
• Heinrich Gēgingers (b. 1875 in Riga, d. 1943 in Lissa, Germany), industrialist
• Eduards Grantskalns (b. 1881 in Lodē, d. 1964 in New Jersey, USA), member of the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia, member of the 1st to 4th Saeima, owner of the model farm "Ruthenia", recipient of the Order of the Three Stars (1933)
• Modris Ģelzis (1929–2009), architect
• Gunārs Freimanis (1927–1993), poet and victim of KGB repressions^[17]
• Aleksandrs Jaunbērzs (1882–1969), member of the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia, chairman of Riga County Council,^[18] lived in Laveri with his grandson Andris Ruģēns
• Anna Jēkabsone (1890–1944), actress at Latvian National Theatre, lived in the "Karaši" house^[9]
• Ramons Kepe (1932–2013), opera singer
• Rita Kukaine (1922–2011), microbiologist, director of the Institute of Microbiology of the Latvian Academy of Sciences
• Vilis Lācis (Jānis Vilhelms Lāce) (1904–1966), writer, chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Latvian SSR,^[19] summer resident of Garciems "Dīķi" near present-day Vaļu Street
• Visvaldis Lāms (1923–1992), writer^[19]
• Māra Marnauza (b. 1963), choral conductor
• Baroness Auguste Juliana von Mengden (1719–1787), politician of the Russian Empire, favorite and mistress of Empress regent Anna Leopoldovna^[20][21]
• Ernst Reinhold von Mengden (1726–1798), Reichsgraf of the Holy Roman Empire, court chief chamberlain of the Russian Empire, jurist, landrat, state councillor
• Fridericus Menius (1593–1659), jurist, historian, professor at the University of Tartu, alchemist, first to publish Latvian folk songs in print.^[22]
• Jāzeps Osmanis (1932–2014), poet^[19]
• Miķelis Voldemārs Pētersons (1893–1977), recipient of the Lāčplēsis War Order^[23]
• Jēkabs Prīmanis (1892–1971), anthropologist
• Andris Ruģēns (b. 1936), engineer and politician
• Valdis Skuja (1933–2018), painter
• Melānija Vanaga (1905–1997), Latvian writer and historian, lived in Carnikava
• Mārtiņš Vācietis (1897–1963), Latvian military officer and general, born in Carnikava
• Ojārs Vācietis (1933-1983), poet, , lived at 15 Cīrulīšu Street^[9]
• Vilhelms Zābers (1862–1938), teacher and chairman of Riga County Council

• Official tourism website