Presentation of the book “Police Ordinances of the Cities of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia in the 16th–18th Centuries” to Take Place at Bauska Castle Museum
On Thursday, 30 September at 3:00 p.m., a presentation of the book “Police Ordinances of the Cities of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia in the 16th–18th Centuries = Policeyordnungen der Städte im Herzogtum Kurland und Semigallen im 16.‒18. Jahrhundert” will take place at Bauska Castle Museum.
Admission to the event is free upon presentation of a valid vaccination or Covid-19 recovery certificate and an identity document. A limited number of books will be available for purchase.
In July this year, the National Archives of Latvia published a book that constitutes Volume 12 of the “Historical Sources” series of the journal “Latvijas Arhīvi”.
The Latvian State Historical Archives holds extensive collections documenting the history of Latvia’s cities from the 13th century onwards. Most of these documents concern Riga. The past of small towns, including the cities of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, is less well known.
Police ordinances were not a local phenomenon, but were characteristic of the German-speaking world in the early modern period. They were intended to regulate “good order” and “proper conduct” in the context of urban life. These police ordinances are important sources for gaining a broader understanding of the history of small towns, and the information they contain provides extensive insight into the history of cities.
The book is a bilingual edition prepared by the archive’s senior researcher, Valda Kvaskova. The publication includes scholarly introductions offering insight into evidence of the economic, social and moral life of townspeople, as well as the basic principles governing the publication of documents. These are followed by the police ordinances of the cities of Kuldīga, Ventspils, Jelgava, Liepāja, Bauska, Jaunjelgava and Jēkabpils in the original German and in Latvian translation.
Information prepared by:
Head of Public Relations and Customer Service at Bauska Castle Museum
www.bauskaspils.lv
