{"id":2309,"date":"2025-04-23T18:12:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T18:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/visi-stasti\/berzaine-manor\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T19:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T19:13:15","slug":"berzaine-manor","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/visi-stasti\/berzaine-manor\/","title":{"rendered":"B\u0113rzaine Manor"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”Listen to the story!” color=”orange” align=”left” i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-solid fa-headphones-simple” css=”” add_icon=”true” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcesustasti.lv%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F05%2FBerzaines-muiza-audio.mp3|”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”7\/12″]\t\t

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B\u0113rzaine \u2014 a place where history and education intertwine among the birch groves.
The small B\u0113rzaine Manor (German: Birkenruh) got its poetic name from the birch groves that once surrounded it. This scenically beautiful area on the edge of town has had many different fates throughout history \u2014 from a manor estate to one of the most highly regarded schools in the Russian Empire. <\/p>\n

Before it became an education centre, the B\u0113rzaine lands were rented at the turn of the 18th and 19th century by Gustavs Stegemans, who paid the city 39.5 roubles a year. Later, in 1823, the land was bought by P\u0113teris Palms for 2,000 roubles. The oldest building in the complex dates back to 1813 and stood about 100 metres from the current main building. <\/p>\n

The turning point came in 1826, when the manor was purchased by the remarkable educator Alberts Voldem\u0101rs Holanders, who moved his private boys’ gymnasium here. Holanders was no ordinary teacher \u2014 he was a pupil of the famous Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, and under his leadership B\u0113rzaine Manor began a new life as an education centre. Around the same time, a new residential building was constructed for the manor’s owners \u2014 a partly wooden, partly stone structure with a storey, a pyramidal roof, and a mansard. Sadly, this building did not survive, as it was destroyed in World War I. Today all that remains of it are levelled foundations and a small round pond nearby. <\/p>\n

Under Holanders’ leadership, over 36 years the manor became one of the most highly regarded schools in the entire Russian Empire. Students came not only from Vidzeme nobility families, but also from noble and even lower-class families from across the province. After Holanders, the school was run by Martins Loflers from 1861 to 1869, and then by his son Alberts Loflers from 1869 to 1882. <\/p>\n

B\u0113rzaine’s real golden age began in 1880, when the Vidzeme nobility decided to purchase the property and establish a nobility gymnasium there. The current impressive red brick building, now known as B\u0113rzaine Gymnasium, was built in 1882 to a design by architect and civil engineer Otto Reinhold August von Sivers, who oversaw the construction himself, with architect J\u0101nis Kampe handling day-to-day supervision. Since state funds were used for construction, the school was named after Russian Emperor Alexander II. This three-storey building, built in the Neo-Gothic style, is today a state-protected historical monument. <\/p>\n

Lessons at B\u0113rzaine Manor were conducted in German, and it was a classical gymnasium with 8 forms. Students were admitted by entrance examination. Tuition was not cheap \u2014 school fees were 100 roubles a year, with board costing 300 roubles for students from Vidzeme and as much as 330 roubles for others. This meant that parents needed to be fairly well-off. Boarding students had to bring a whole list of items with them, including pillows, a blanket, several shirts, underpants, socks, shoes, and even a dressing gown or coat. <\/p>\n

Following the Russian government’s 1887 decision requiring a switch to Russian-language instruction, the Vidzeme nobility resisted, and as a result the school was closed in 1892. Later, after the suppression of the 1905 revolution, the gymnasium reopened in 1906 with a compromise \u2014 lessons were held in both German and Russian, but exams had to be taken in Russian. These language difficulties reflected the wider tension between the local German nobility and the Russian Empire’s drive towards centralisation. <\/p>\n

The outbuildings, constructed from the same red brick, added to the complex’s sense of unity and created a coherent architectural ensemble. The building’s architectural significance is also reflected in its decoration \u2014 the facade gable once proudly displayed the Vidzeme coat of arms, a griffin with a sword, whose place now stands empty and would be worth restoring. <\/p>\n

The materials used for the description are:<\/em>
\nIlma Z\u0101l\u012bte, Mg. hist., and the C\u0113sis Rotary Club project “A Walk Around the Manors of C\u0113sis”;
the collections of C\u0113sis Castle Museum and C\u0113sis Central Library. <\/em><\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”5\/12″]\t\t

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In the B\u0113rzaine ravine there was once a gardener’s cottage where the father of painter J. Rozenbergs worked as a gardener \u2014 sadly, this building has not survived to the present day.<\/p>\n

Several later well-known doctors studied at B\u0113rzaine Gymnasium at one time, including J\u0101nis Dzirne, who went on to become the court physician of the Crown Prince of Abyssinia.<\/p>\n

Today the school building has its own inventory number: P110052. <\/p>\n

Facts<\/strong><\/h3>\n
    \n
  • 1813: The oldest known building in the B\u0113rzaine complex is built.<\/li>\n
  • Turn of the 18th\/19th century: Gustavs Stegemans rents the B\u0113rzaine lands from the city for 39.5 roubles. <\/li>\n
  • 1823: P\u0113teris Palms buys the B\u0113rzaine lands for 2,000 roubles.<\/li>\n
  • 1826: Educator Alberts Voldem\u0101rs Holanders purchases the manor and sets up a private boys’ gymnasium here (founded in 1825 in Vecbrengu\u013ci near Valmiera).<\/li>\n
  • 1837: All gymnasium classes are opened at B\u0113rzaine Gymnasium.<\/li>\n
  • 1861\u20131869: The school is run by Martins Loflers.<\/li>\n
  • 1869\u20131882: The school is run by Alberts Loflers (Martins Loflers’ son).<\/li>\n
  • 1880: B\u0113rzaine Manor is purchased by the Vidzeme nobility.<\/li>\n
  • 1882: A new red brick building is constructed to a design by architect O. von Sivers.<\/li>\n
  • 1892: The school is closed after refusing to switch to teaching in Russian (the Russian government’s decision to mandate Russian-language instruction was made in 1887).<\/li>\n
  • 1906: Classes resume at B\u0113rzaine Gymnasium.<\/li>\n
  • 1915: The gymnasium is closed and the building is taken over by the headquarters of the Russian 12th Army. <\/li>\n
  • 1915\u20131920: The old partly wooden manor residential building is destroyed during World War I.<\/li>\n
  • 1920: C\u0113sis B\u0113rzaine State Secondary School begins operating in the building.<\/li>\n
  • 1920\u20131922: C\u0113sis Teachers’ Seminary operates in the building.<\/li>\n
  • 1925: C\u0113sis B\u0113rzaine State Secondary School is renamed C\u0113sis State Secondary School.<\/li>\n
  • 1929: C\u0113sis State Secondary School is renamed C\u0113sis State Gymnasium.<\/li>\n
  • 1938\u20131940: C\u0113sis Teachers’ Institute is located in the building.<\/li>\n
  • 1940: Following the occupation of Latvia, the teachers’ institute is closed.<\/li>\n
  • 1944: A six-year C\u0113sis Teachers’ Institute opens in the building.<\/li>\n
  • 1954: C\u0113sis Sanatorium Forest School moves into the building.<\/li>\n
  • 2023: The school begins operating as a general education institution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1010,"template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[204,312,326],"product_tag":[243,313],"class_list":{"0":"post-2309","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-cesis-house","7":"product_cat-manor","8":"product_cat-schools","9":"product_tag-manor","10":"product_tag-school","12":"first","13":"instock","14":"shipping-taxable","15":"product-type-simple"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/2309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=2309"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=2309"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=2309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}