Since 2013 the river Svētupe, which is 48 km long and is situated in north Vidzeme, had become the main subject of an interdisciplinary research. With the support of the Latvian Council of Science the LAC Research Centre was implementing the research project “The Vidzeme River Svētupe in the Mythical and Real Cultural Space”. The river and its banks were explored from the viewpoint of archaeology, folklore studies, linguistics and ethnology, applying the methodological framework of the abovementioned disciplines, thus probing deep into changes and development of the cultural landscape of the river from prehistory to the present day.

The aim of this research was to study the essence and significance of the cultural landscape of the river Svētupe in a complex and interdisciplinary way by examining whether and how an extraterritorial and hydrogeological object can form the identity of the riverside and its people. The project was completed in December, 2016.

While working on the project, the banks of the river Svētupe were surveyed on foot and by boats, establishing the population of the river banks and the use of the river for economic purposes both in the past and present.

A large-scale field study was performed in the territory of the project – the river Svētupe and its adjoining territories 0.5 km in width:

• identification and survey of ancient hydraulic structures of the Svētupe, including an underwater survey;
• aerial views of the Svētupe cultural landscape;
• aerial views of the ancient signs of the Liv sacrifice caves, investigation of the ancient and present offerings;
• aerial views of the Svētupe bridges and plankways;
• observation of everyday practices of the population of the river banks, documenting interpretations and narratives about the living environment of the local people in the past and in the ethnographical present;
• fact-finding of folklore and language of the population of the Svētupe banks, recording of stories, legends, folk tales, songs, proverbs, nomenclature of tools, objects, natural phenomena, etc.;
• aerial views of nature sites and artefacts that have been integrated in the cultural landscape.

During the implementation of the project:

• the river Svētupe was recognized as an essential part of the local identity in forming an understanding a united cultural and historical space that manifests itself in the economic activities, traditions and values of the local community;
• a positive correlation was established between a high level of local identity awareness and readiness to take care, tend and maintain the factors that create the originality of this place: the cultural landscape, traditions and language that for their part contribute to Latvian national culture as a whole.

The students of the sub-programme of the LAC “Traditional Culture and Folklore” were involved in collecting the empirical data for the project. It promoted the interaction of academic knowledge and research as the new generation was involved in the research; thus the students were enabled to acquire practical skills and test their theoretical knowledge of folklore studies, ethnology and archaeology by applying the methods of these disciplines and studying their specific nature.

The materials collected in field studies were examined in accordance with the scientific standards and methodological requirements of the relevant disciplines, namely, the audio materials collected during the interviews (more than 60 hours) were deciphered and transcribed; the place descriptions were officially registered; descriptions and drawings of antiques were made; structures were measured; conventional air and underwater photos were described; radiocarbon dating of the hydraulic structures from the upper reaches of the Svētupe was obtained; the contact copies of inscriptions and signs from the Liv sacrifice caves were electronically processed, metric data and descriptions were brought together.

The hydrological object of cultural and historical significance located on the bank of the Svētupe – the dam of the Jaunupe - was inspected and documented during the implementation of the project. The obtained information was submitted to the State Inspection for Cultural Heritage Protection in order to decide whether it could be granted the conservation status of a national heritage site. The existence of the Svētupe waterway was established and documented.

The research findings allow us to conclude that the river Svētupe, which is a mid-sized river for the Latvian circumstances, forms a united cultural and historical region in Vidzeme; it has its own characteristic cultural landscape and unique features of local identity. In its time the Svētupe used to be an important waterway while the banks of the river were and still are a populated area. It provides the local communities not only with nature’s benefits of everyday use, but it also forms a definite folklore repertoire and a sense of belonging to one’s locality that is very important; it also contributes to enriching the Latvian national culture as a whole.

The project achieved a high visibility in the local community and in the media: seminars with presentations were organised in the localities of the Svētupe riverside – Pāle, Lauvas and Viļķene, and popular scientific articles were published by the local press. Papers based on materials collected during the project were also presented in Riga, Valmiera, Kuldīga and Milzkalne. Research findings and results of the project were presented at a number of international conferences and published in a collection of research papers “The Vidzeme River Svētupe in the Mythical and Real Cultural Space” (compiled and edited by Professor Juris Urtāns. – Rīga: Nordik, 2015).http://www.janisroze.lv/lv/gramatas/vesture/arheologija-novadpetnieciba/vidzemes-svetupe-mitiskaja-un-realaja-kulturtelpa.html

Based on the project’s benefits, new research paper collections are being prepared about the riverside homes of the Svētupe (Janīna Kursīte, Rasma Noriņa and Juris Urtāns) and the Liv sacrifice caves (Juris Urtāns and Sandis Laime). 

Head of the Project 

Prof., Dr.hist., Dr.habil.art. Juris Urtāns, juris.urtans@lka.edu.lv