Lielvarde

Lielvārde
Town
Lielvārde Lutheran church
Coat of arms
Lielvārde Location in Latvia
Coordinates: 56°42′N 24°50′E / 56.700°N 24.833°E / 56.700; 24.833
Country	Latvia
District	Ogre District
Town rights	1992
Government
• Mayor	Imants Balodis
Area
• Total	10 km2 (4 sq mi)
• Rural territory	60 km2 (20 sq mi)
Population
• Total	6,708
• Density	671/km2 (1,740/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	507(0-1)
Calling code	+371 650
Website	http://www.lielvarde.lv/

Lielvārde ( pronunciation ; German: Lennewarden), population 6328, is a town in Vidzeme, Latvia, the administrative centre of Lielvārde municipality on the right bank of the Daugava river, 52 km southeast of Riga.

The area was a contact zone between the Finnic Livonians and the Balts, and many prehistoric artifacts have been uncovered there. A Baltic hill-fort named Lennewarden being taken in fief by Albert of Buxhoeveden in 1201 is mentioned in the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia. This site is called Dievukalns (Hill of the Gods) in Latvian. A stone castle was constructed by the Riga diocese in 1229; its ruins are still accessible today.

A parochial school was established when the area was part of Swedish Livonia, but ca. 70% of the population perished in the Great Plague of 1710. The opening of the Riga–Daugavpils Railway in 1861 led to the expansion of the town around the railway station Ringmundhofa later named Rembate. The town was entirely destroyed in World War I but was swiftly rebuilt after Latvia achieved independence.