A new public space will be created at 19th-century Bebrene Manor, located near Daugavpils. The municipality hopes that after the renovation, the manor will become a meeting place for both locals and tourists, offering events and exhibitions in a cellar and underground passage.
Bebrene is a small village in Augšdaugava municipality. The ancient manor house complex was once the property of the Baltic German Plater-Ziberg family. The manor ensemble with a residential building, outbuildings, park, cellars and a partially preserved underground passage is an interesting sightseeing object. Now the local government has made a decision to restore the underground part of the manor.
The manor currently houses the Bebrene secondary school. Going down to the basement of the building, you can see not only the vaulted ceiling and underground passage, but also the wet walls. This year, the basement is planned to be renovated and rooms will be created for exhibitions, creative workshops and celebrations. Food was delivered to the barons through this underground passage, which once connected the kitchen building and the manor house. Only part of the tunnel has survived to this day, said the director of the Bebrene comprehensive and vocational secondary school, Erika Šaršune.
Attēlā Ērika Šaršune
Photo: Iveta Čigāne
“The kitchen was in another building, so that the smells would not spread throughout the palace and tempt them until mealtime, so food was brought through this underground passage. Unfortunately, only part of the underground passage has survived, because the other part was filled in when installing communications and carrying out other work, but we decided that the existing part should be preserved,” said Šaršune.
Bebrene Secondary School has about 200 students. The school also teaches professions related to veterinary medicine and animal husbandry, and principal Šaršune talked about the historical parallels between these fields. “The manor building also corresponds to an interesting profession that we teach – a livestock technician with a specialization in horse breeding, because the Plater-Ziberg family also had horses.”
Following the declaration of Latvian independence and subsequent land reform, the Bebrene manor house was transferred to the school in 1921 said Benita Štrausa, head of the Bebrene parish association.
Attēlā Benita Štrausa
Photo: Iveta Čigāne
“The Bebrene secondary school has been operating here since 1922. This year, the building’s basement and underground passage will be renovated and adapted for tourism needs,” Štrausa explained.
After the renovation, the basement will open its doors not only to tourists, but will also become a meeting place for residents of the village and the surrounding area. “Community groups will be able to operate here, organize exhibitions, young people will be able to hold concerts, and tourists will be able to see theatrical events,” Štrausa pointed out.
The basement and underground passage were in fact once actively used for local events, and there was a special atmosphere here during high school student award ceremonies. Currently, however, we have to wait for repairs, explained school principal Šaršune.
“We can see the problem here. Water is seeping in through the terrace, and moss has already started to grow here. If we save it, many future generations will benefit,” said Šaršune.
The renovation of the cellars and underground passages of Bebrene Manor is planned to be completed by the end of this year. The renovation work will cost almost 50 thousand euros, the majority of which, or 90%, will be covered by the European Union’s Rural Development Programme, while the remainder will be financed by the Augšdaugava municipality.
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