Seda, Latvia
Seda is a town in northern Latvia, which was built in the 1950s as a working class neighborhood in a peat - mining area.
History
The marsh " Seda " belonged to the estate Wolfarths Linde (now lett Jērcēni ). 1938 State Joint Stock Company " Kūdra " ( = peat ) was founded for the exploitation of peat deposits. By 1954, however, was in the forest and swamp only a single homestead.
On August 5, 1954, the plan to build a peat factory with workers' settlement was approved. So an area is just north of the railway line Valga - Riga cleared and started the construction work. The project was advertised as All-Union Komsomol shock - building project, so that young workers reported from all parts of the Soviet Union. The workers settlement is an example of Neo-classical architecture of the Stalin era. Due to the composition of the 4000 inhabitants Population Seda was a Russian -speaking enclave in Northern Latvia. In 1991, the town rights, even though the population was a result of Latvian independence and economic restructuring in Latvia already on the wane. In 2006, 64 % of the population and 17% of Latvians Russians. The remaining 19 % is spread over 16 different nationalities. Approximately half of the population had Latvian citizenship. One-third of all were retirees.
The privatized operating company is the largest Torfproduzent Latvia.
Architecture
The city structure is very compact. To a large central square, the tree- birch and linden wide roads diverge in a star shape. The architecture of public buildings and houses in the Stalinist- Classical style found nowhere else on Latvian territory. Only on the outskirts of the village are some of the usual Communism multi-family houses to be found. More recently, a shop has been transformed into an Orthodox church. The hastily -built, all yellow buildings show signs of time and are half empty.
The Seda marsh
The 7582 -acre wetland is crossed by a rail system for narrow-gauge railway. The locomotives are used to transport peat - tourists are not taken. After half a century the Torfbestände are exploited for the most part. The resulting wetlands are home to a rich fauna of partially protected animals and are important for migratory birds. In the spring, here are several hundreds northern swans and fall over a thousand wild geese gather. A large area in the heart of the swamp is still in a natural state, as all attempts at reclamation failed. Here tree roots were promoted from the bottom, which are partially preserved for 3,000 years. In autumn, the area with collectors of blueberries and cranberries is popular. In drier forests also grow mushrooms.