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Jurmala - Culture |
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The organization of services and amenities was in the hand of
the Resort Society, the first one being that of Dubulti, founded 1851.
Prior to that a Committee of holidaymakers functioned since 1840. The
resort society of Majori was founded 1873, that of Bulduri in 1877, and
that of Melluzhi - in 1879. Historically the landowners of Kurzeme were
first to use Jurmala as a resort, following the Western fashion of resting
at the sea. As early as the late 18th century they started going to
Kauguri and Plientsiems. In the twenties of the l9th century the interest
towards the place situated in the vicinity of Riga increased. After the
Napoleonic war of 1812 Jurmala as well as Kemeri started getting
frequented not only by inhabitants of Riga, but also by wounded higher
officers of the Russian army, among them field marshal Barclay de Tolli.
In the course of the succeeding fifty years the popularity of Jurmala kept
growing among other holidaymakers as well. People started arriving also
from other provinces of Russia. Those holidaymakers looked for shelter
among the houses of the local peasants and fishermen. The latter soon
adapted them to receiving them. During the later 19th century those who
went swimming in the sea started using bathing carriages - wooden huts
placed on four high wheels. The servant used to ride on the back of a
horse, pulled the hut into the sea and left it there, until the swimmer
hoisted a little flag fixed to the hut. Every bathing place used to have
several score of such carriages for hire. On the beach special-huts were built, where on could change
and leave one's clothes. Gangway planks were made to spare the swimmer
wading through the shallow water, until he reaches a depth sufficient for
swimming. They were built in such a way that they could be reached at by
carriage, and steps enabled the swimmer to dive comfortably. Every
swimming place could offer quite a number of these amenities, which was a
sign of their popularity. Their length exceeded a hundred metres, and
contained several huts. These constructions were in use up to World War I.
A lot was done for organizing sea bathing. At the beginning
of the 19th century bathing suits had not yet been invented. Therefore
separate bathing hours were established for men and women. In order to
avoid possible misunderstandings special flags were used - red for men's
hours in Dubulti, blue for the ladies' hours. A bell use also to be rung.
The duration of these times was not evenly distributed - four hours for
ladies and about twice as much for gentlemen.
Before World War I there were a total of 11 societies,
responsible for various amenities, starting from fresh water supply and
street lighting, and finishing with the organization of all sorts of
summer events. The dwellings of fishermen and peasants did no offer
sufficient comfort to the wealthy people from towns and cities. Therefore
intensive building of summerhouses was started. The first plots were
allotted in Bulduri, then in Dubulti. At first they were rented, then
sold. Large-scale building took place on the grounds of Fircks in Majori,
as well as in Melluzhi and Asari. The number of plots rented by
holidaymakers in 1917 approached the number of two thousand. A large proportion of the tenants were Latvians - 42% in
1884, even 49 % on the land of Fircks. In 1917 this amount reached 71.8 %
of the land property. At first, the main source of income of the local
inhabitants of Melluzhi and Asari was gardening, the building of
summerhouses started later. At the beginning of the century holiday-makers
hired apartments in the houses of local inhabitants, the owners of the
place temporality moving to the loft or into various sheds. The last places to get populated before the beginning of
World War I were Priedaine and Jaunkemeri. The present borders, the name and the renewed status of a
town Jurmala received in 1959, when Sloka and Kemeri were joined to it.
Thus, Jurmala has been developing in its present precincts mainly during
the last forty years. Its roads and its buildings are not evenly
distributed, and the population density is also not uniform. Densely
populated areas exist alongside with parts mainly covered by woodland and
gardens, buildings are sporadically positioned, the decisive and
characteristic feature being the closeness of the sea and the river, which
lend the place its specific charm. Between 1561 and 1783 the territory of Jurmala formed part of
the dukedom of Kurzeme, but in 1783 it was incorporated into the province
of Vidzeme, which had been part of Russia since 1721. The village of Sloka
is the oldest settlement in Jurmala (the rivulet Slotsene, at which it is
situated, is mentioned in historical sources as early as 1255). It
received township status in 1785. Kemeri on the other hand, developed as a health resort from
the start. Unlike the rest of Jurmala, which became popular in the 19th
century in connection with the use of the sea for health purposes, Kemeri
with its hydrogen sulphide containing healing water of its swamps was well
known already in the l8th century. The name of Jurmala (Seaside) got into
use at the end of the 19th century, denoting the area between Bulli and
Asari. |
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The
majority of the inhabitants of Riga used to go to Jurmala on Sundays and
did not hire any summerhouses. Only about half of the constantly living
holidaymakers were inhabitants of Riga. 