Kolka
Livonian: Kūolka
Village
Lutheran Church in Kolka
Lutheran Church in Kolka
Kolka is located in Latvia
Kolka
Kolka
Location in Latvia
Coordinates: 57°44′33″N 22°35′04″E / 57.74250°N 22.58444°E / 57.74250; 22.58444
Country Latvia
MunicipalityTalsi Municipality
ParishKolka Parish
Elevation
10 ft (3 m)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total874
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
LV-3275 Kolka
ClimateCfb
Livonians
Flag of Livonians
Regions with significant populations
Latvia (Livonian Coast)
 Latvia250[1]
Languages
Livonian, Latvian
Religion
Lutheranism and Russian Orthodox
Related ethnic groups
other Baltic Finns

Kolka (Livonian: Kūolka) is a village in Kolka Parish, Talsi Municipality, on the tip of Cape Kolka in Courland in Latvia, on the coast of the Gulf of Riga in ancient Livonia.

Livonian homeland

Kolka and other surrounding villages of Livonian coast are home to the last remnants of Latvia's Livonian ethnic group, whose Livonian language is highly endangered. The village has the highest number of Livonians in the historical area of Livonian coast. In 1995, of the 186 Livonians in Latvia, 53 were living in Kolka.[2]

History

Kolka may be the place where Danish archbishop Absalon built the first church in the Baltic region. The first mentions of it are from 1387, when it was called Domesnes, which may refer to Danish or Finnish background. The Livonian name Kūolka means "corner" in English.

Situated on the cape, the Kolka lighthouse was built in 1864 by Russian Empire navy and has been renovated twice (in 1975 and 1985). There are also ruins of the old lighthouse, which was built in the 14th century.

Climate

Kolka has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb), because the average temperature in winter is very close to the freezing point. Affected by the warm Gulf Stream, Kolka has a climate closer to an oceanic climate than other cities in Latvia.

Climate data for Cape Kolka (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1884−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 10.2
(50.4)		 14.3
(57.7)		 19.1
(66.4)		 23.5
(74.3)		 28.0
(82.4)		 31.2
(88.2)		 32.0
(89.6)		 32.1
(89.8)		 28.4
(83.1)		 21.5
(70.7)		 15.3
(59.5)		 12.2
(54.0)		 32.1
(89.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 1.1
(34.0)		 0.6
(33.1)		 3.4
(38.1)		 8.3
(46.9)		 13.8
(56.8)		 18.0
(64.4)		 21.1
(70.0)		 20.7
(69.3)		 16.4
(61.5)		 10.7
(51.3)		 5.9
(42.6)		 2.7
(36.9)		 10.2
(50.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) −0.8
(30.6)		 −1.6
(29.1)		 0.5
(32.9)		 4.5
(40.1)		 9.6
(49.3)		 14.3
(57.7)		 17.5
(63.5)		 17.1
(62.8)		 13.2
(55.8)		 8.1
(46.6)		 3.9
(39.0)		 1.0
(33.8)		 7.3
(45.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −3.1
(26.4)		 −4.2
(24.4)		 −2.6
(27.3)		 0.8
(33.4)		 5.2
(41.4)		 9.9
(49.8)		 13.2
(55.8)		 12.8
(55.0)		 9.5
(49.1)		 5.2
(41.4)		 1.8
(35.2)		 −1.3
(29.7)		 3.9
(39.1)
Record low °C (°F) −29.3
(−20.7)		 −31.5
(−24.7)		 −22.5
(−8.5)		 −15.1
(4.8)		 −4.6
(23.7)		 −1.6
(29.1)		 4.2
(39.6)		 1.0
(33.8)		 −3.2
(26.2)		 −5.8
(21.6)		 −15.5
(4.1)		 −22.3
(−8.1)		 −31.5
(−24.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 44.2
(1.74)		 36.1
(1.42)		 34.3
(1.35)		 31.2
(1.23)		 34.0
(1.34)		 62.7
(2.47)		 71.5
(2.81)		 82.2
(3.24)		 58.1
(2.29)		 68.2
(2.69)		 58.1
(2.29)		 48.6
(1.91)		 629.2
(24.78)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 11 9 8 7 6 9 9 11 10 13 13 12 118
Mean monthly sunshine hours 30.6 64.7 148.2 214.8 270.3 284.4 265.9 226.2 161.6 94.5 31.4 26.7 1,819.3
Source 1: LVĢMC[3][4]
Source 2: NOAA (precipitation days 1981-2010),[5] infoclimat.fr (sunshine 1991-2020)[6]

Religion

Former Orthodox seminary and Russian Orthodox church in the background

Kolka has three picturesque old churches (all in service now): Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, and Roman Catholic (the three largest religious groups in Latvia). Kolka also has connection to the Tikhvin icon (Theotokos of Tikhvin), as it is Kolka's Russian Orthodox priest first saved it and his spiritual son later returned it to its original place.

The Theotokos of Tikhvin (by Luke the Evangelist )

Present times

Kolka has a small hotel, a restaurant, several shops, a post office, a chemist, and a petrol station. An old fish processing factory (now closed) is located in the port harbour. There is a Livonian cultural centre with a small museum.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Provisional results of the 2011 Population and Housing Census Archived 2012-10-08 at the Wayback Machine (in English)
  2. ↑ Toomas Tombu - The Livonians' Estonian
  3. ↑ "Klimatisko normu dati" (in Latvian). Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Gaisa temperatūras rekordi" (in Latvian). Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  5. ↑ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1981-2010". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Normales et records pour la période 1991-2020 à Kolka" (in French). infoclimat.fr. Retrieved February 18, 2022.


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