Kalvenes Street House No. 27 (former No. 29 Boju Street)

№ 29 Boju Street (today № 27 Kalvenes Street) around 1900

Nr. 27 Kalvenes Street in 2014

The plot, on which there is a two-storey masonry building shown in the photo, was built at the end of the 18th century. In 1798, its owner Otto Friedrich Vernih borrowed 1,000 Talers for house repairs, but the following year sold it to the Aizpute Council.

In the first half of the 19th century, the Aizpute Town Hospital was located here. In 1848, the Council had rebuilt its collapsed wooden house, replacing the wooden walls with a brick wall, but preserving the roof structure. The renovated building had 8 living rooms. There was also a backyard building built in 1848 on the plot with 3 compartments for stables and 1 living room.

When the Council started negotiations with the Courland Provincial Board in 1854 to get a permit for the sale of this building, the architect Winberg gave an assessment of the technical condition of the building: a one-storey building with a tiled roof was built of burnt bricks. Except for all the wooden parts, the building is in good condition.

After receiving permission from the Provincial Board, the Council sold this house to Daniel Dannemann for 1,330 Rubles in 1860, and Dannemann sold it to the merchant Herrmann Frey for 1800 Rubles in 1862.

In 1871, the Aizpute Council received permission from the Provincial Board to purchase Frey's house and rebuild it into a hospital.

For the two-storey masonry building shown in the photo, with an extension over time, other extensions have appeared on the side of the yard, but the two-storey house is still the only building designed, built and used for hospital purpose in Aizpute.

The hospital was built in 1874 after the project of Paul Max Bertschy, who graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1869 and was approved as an architect of the cities of Liepaja, Grobiņa and Aizpute in February 1871, in the place where a one-storey masonry town hospital - an infirmary - was located.

The project of the new hospital was signed by Bertschy on April 23, 1872.

For the supervision and management of the construction works of the hospital for civil and military needs, the Council paid 4% of the construction costs of the new building to the architect from its budget - 209 Rubles.

On the 1st floor of the hospital there were planned 4 wards with 3, 2, 4 and 4 beds, respectively, doctor's room, housekeeper’s apartment, personnel room, kitchen, as well as a bathroom and 3 toilets, on the 2nd floor - 7 wards with 3, 2, 4, 4, 3, 3, 3 beds respectively, pharmacy in the middle, personnel room, also kitchen and 6 toilets - three in each wing.

The toilets and the bathroom were designed for this purpose in two extensions on the courtyard side, one in each wing. On the 1st floor, the entrance to both the toilets and the bathroom was from the entrance halls.

Based on the order of the Governor of Courland of August 21, 1875, a 20-bed battalion infirmary was set up on the 2nd floor of the town-owned hospital, for which the Council received 500 Rubles a year from the State Treasury. During the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), the battalion deployed in Aizpute District was supposed to go to war, and in 1878 only Turkish prisoners of war were treated in the hospital's 30 beds, many of whom died of typhus, including Aizpute District doctor’s assistant 43-year-old Adelbert Neumann.

In 1879, there were already barracks at this address, which added 567.86 Rubles to the Town Treasury that year. In 1880, a contract was signed with the local master builder Grünberg for the construction of an Orthodox prayer house next to these barracks, which is probably the extension on the left. The former hospital building housed the Aizpute District Warlord's Office, and from the summer of 1889 to the summer of 1914 housed the Orthodox Church Parish School for Boys and Girls, which taught in Russian according to the general type 1-grade folk school program. There was also a clergyman's apartment.

During the First World War, a German elementary school was located in 16 rooms.

In 1919, the Chancellery of the District Chief and the Chancellery and Commandery of the Chief of Security were in this house.

During the years of Latvia's independence, there was a War District Administration here. At first it was the office of Aizpute District, from February 15, 1920 Aizpute - Kuldiga District Chief of Security, but in 1921 there was already the office of Warlord, later - Aizpute-Kuldiga War District Administration, which occupied 10 rooms here.

On March 5, 1928, a Sale-Purchase Agreement was concluded that the Council of Aizpute would sell its real estate at 29 Boju Street to the Ministry of Finance for 24,000 Lats. The land plot for sale was handed over to the buyer on January 1, 1928. On January 30, 1934, the property was registered in the name of the Ministry of War.

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