Road from city to city

Publicēts: 2.10.2023

Road from city to city
Buildings. Human beings. Events

In the final article, dedicated to the 95th birthday of the city of Gulbene, we will look at a building that has already received attention and should be made more beautiful, and we will study how electric light entered the city.

Vešūzis of Vecgulbene manor - dictionaries explain that the word Vešūzis comes from the German language (das Waschhaus) - laundry, ironing room, place where washing and drying machines are located. As Andrejs Upītis writes in the book "Zaļa zeme": ".. madame is ironing shirts for gentlemen in a washing machine...". Vešūzis of Vecgulbene manor is located on Parka street 31, in a picturesque place - on the edge of Rudolph Park by the Krustalice river. The building was luxurious, decorated with wood carvings, covered with wooden scaly cladding, built in the middle of the 19th century. In the 70s-80s of the 20th century, this building housed the preventive disinfection department of the Gulbene district and the polyclinic of the tuberculosis department of the central hospital.

A traveler in the 1928 newspaper "Gulbenes Ziņas" says: "Having entered Gulbene at night, I was surprised by the effective lighting of the station, one must think that the electricity here is provided by the "Dole power station", because there is no other way to explain this great lighting". At that time, the railway workshops provided the first electric current to the town of Vecgulbene. At the end of 1929, the newspaper "Gulbenes Vēstnesis" informs: "The installation of electricity in the church has just been completed, the funds for which were mainly provided by the women's committee of the Gulbene parish."
             Since 1935 and for a long time in the post-war years, the city of Gulbene was supplied with electricity by the Aiviekste power station. In 1940, electricity was also connected to the parish school in Vecgulbene. In the 200-year history of its existence, the school made do with various light sources - torn and burned scales, long-used tallow candles, kerosene lamps, "Primus" incandescent lamps, until finally the joy of electric light bulbs. In honor of this event, a festive event was held, in which the history teacher M. Miezītis and school principal Kārlis Martinsons read reports, a theater performance was shown.

Photo: Vecgulbene manor Vešūzis. The beginning of the 20th century.

 

Sanita Jurkāne
Gulbene county library