Mērsrags
{{Short description|Town in Latvia}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2010}}
File:Mērsraga baznīca 2000-06-24.jpg
Mērsrags ({{langx|de|Markgrafen}}) is a small harbor town in Talsi Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia, located on the west coast of the Gulf of Riga beside Lake Engure and surrounded by extensive woodlands. The total area of the former Mērsrags municipality was 109 km2 (10896.2 ha), 63.7% of this area was woodland and Lake Engure covered 20.4%, the coastline was about 12 km long. The town center is some 42 km from Talsi, the main city of the area and some 95 km from the capital, Riga.
Mērsrags had a population of 1986 in June 2008.
Many types of landscape can be seen; seaside, lake reservation, everglades, lagoons, the bed of the dried-up Litorīnas lake (Litorīnas ezers), the sand dune forest, and rural and urban landscapes.
History
The earliest information about Mērsrags is from the 15th century, when it was a small fishing hamlet beside the Gulf of Riga. There are many stories and myths about Mērsrags. Pirates, who lured ships ashore and plundered them, used to live here. During the ducal period, there was a large production of soap.
In 1842 a canal was dug from the north end of Lake Engure to the sea and in 1843 Mērsrags began to develop. In 1880 a lighthouse had been completed and the first ship was launched from the dockyard. Altogether 22 sailing ships were built in Mērsrags. Between 1860 and 1915, 66 sailing ships were built in Upesgrīva village.
Until 1918, Mērsrags village and Upesgrīva village belonged to the parish of the Engure manor but, in 1918, Mērsrags became a separate parish. Likewise in 1926 Upesgrīva became a separate parish.
In 1926 a narrow-gauge railway came to Mērsrags and in 1927 the port was built to satisfy the needs of fishing boats and shipping.
In the 1960s the development of the fish farm collective resulted in a great increase in the production of fish and canned products. The first block of flats and a distant steam heating plant were built. A new fish processing plant was constructed as well as a net repair shop and an engineering workshop. The village roads were repaired and asphalted. Fishing remains an important aspect of the economy, with smoked fish being one of the local specialties.
Sights and attractions
The area has a developed infrastructure for tourism, especially for anglers and birdwatchers.{{cite book|last=Hagemann|first=Volker|title=Lettland entdecken: unterwegs im Herzen des Baltikums|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s__gxNhwtB0C&pg=PA243|year=2006|publisher=Trescher Verlag|language=German|isbn=9783897940642|page=243}}
- Lake Engure, an important stopping place for migratory birds, attracts many birdwatchers and Mērsrags is an excellent place to observe wading birds.{{cite book|last=Gorman|first=Gerard|title=Birding in Eastern Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zX1FAQAAIAAJ|year=2006|publisher=WildSounds|isbn=9781898665076|page=136}} The village offers access to the lake's northern shore, where a birdwatching tower is located about 5 km from the town.{{cite book|last=Bousfield|first=Jonathan|title=Baltic States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5AuN15X4nQC&pg=PA235|year=2004|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=9781858288406|page=235}}
- The Mērsrags canal (dug in 1842-1843) is about 4 km. long and connects Lake Engure to the sea.
- Museum - The Peoples House (Saieta Names - latv.). The building is from 1872 and contains an exhibition about life and conditions in Mērsrags and its surroundings at the beginning of the 20th century. There are many relics, tools and items from the houses of the period.
- Mērsrags lighthouse,{{cite book|last=Könnecke|first=Jochen|title=Lettland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AqHZ2I7RUZQC&pg=PA200|accessdate=15 March 2014|year=2009|publisher=DuMont Reiseverlag|language=German|isbn=9783770172344|page=200}} built in 1874.
- Mērsrags Lutheran Church, built in 1809, is one of the oldest wooden churches in the country.
The church contains several preserved cultural monuments. Located in the old churchyard.
Climate
Mērsrags has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) closely bordering on an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb).
{{Weather box
|location = Mērsrags (1991-2020 normals, extremes 1895-present)
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan high C = 0.5
|Feb high C = 0.5
|Mar high C = 4.1
|Apr high C = 9.8
|May high C = 15.4
|Jun high C = 19.6
|Jul high C = 22.3
|Aug high C = 21.6
|Sep high C = 17.0
|Oct high C = 10.6
|Nov high C = 5.3
|Dec high C = 2.0
|year high C =
|Jan mean C = -1.6
|Feb mean C = -2.1
|Mar mean C = 0.5
|Apr mean C = 5.2
|May mean C = 10.5
|Jun mean C = 14.8
|Jul mean C = 17.6
|Aug mean C = 17.0
|Sep mean C = 12.7
|Oct mean C = 7.4
|Nov mean C = 3.2
|Dec mean C = 0.0
|year mean C =
|Jan low C = -4.3
|Feb low C = -5.1
|Mar low C = -3.3
|Apr low C = 0.5
|May low C = 4.8
|Jun low C = 9.3
|Jul low C = 12.2
|Aug low C = 11.7
|Sep low C = 8.1
|Oct low C = 3.9
|Nov low C = 0.8
|Dec low C = -2.4
|year low C =
|Jan record high C = 10.7
|Feb record high C = 13.6
|Mar record high C = 20.8
|Apr record high C = 28.1
|May record high C = 31.6
|Jun record high C = 34.6
|Jul record high C = 34.4
|Aug record high C = 33.8
|Sep record high C = 29.1
|Oct record high C = 24.9
|Nov record high C = 15.5
|Dec record high C = 12.4
|year record high C =
|Jan record low C = -33.7
|Feb record low C = -36.2
|Mar record low C = -28.9
|Apr record low C = -16.2
|May record low C = -6.1
|Jun record low C = -2.2
|Jul record low C = 3.3
|Aug record low C = 1.4
|Sep record low C = -3.9
|Oct record low C = -10.0
|Nov record low C = -18.1
|Dec record low C = -25.6
|year record low C =
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 42.9
|Feb precipitation mm = 33.8
|Mar precipitation mm = 31.6
|Apr precipitation mm = 35.1
|May precipitation mm = 45.4
|Jun precipitation mm = 66.5
|Jul precipitation mm = 77.3
|Aug precipitation mm = 75.5
|Sep precipitation mm = 53.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 67.4
|Nov precipitation mm = 52.4
|Dec precipitation mm = 44.6
|year precipitation mm =
|unit precipitation days = 1 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 10
|Feb precipitation days = 8
|Mar precipitation days = 7
|Apr precipitation days = 7
|May precipitation days = 8
|Jun precipitation days = 9
|Jul precipitation days = 9
|Aug precipitation days = 10
|Sep precipitation days = 9
|Oct precipitation days = 12
|Nov precipitation days = 11
|Dec precipitation days = 11
| Jan humidity = 86.2
| Feb humidity = 84.4
| Mar humidity = 79.8
| Apr humidity = 76.0
| May humidity = 73.6
| Jun humidity = 75.5
| Jul humidity = 77.6
| Aug humidity = 79.3
| Sep humidity = 81.5
| Oct humidity = 83.6
| Nov humidity = 87.2
| Dec humidity = 87.5
| year humidity =
|Jan sun =
|Feb sun =
|Mar sun =
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|year sun =
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|source 1 = LVĢMC{{cite web
| url = https://data.gov.lv/dati/dataset/klimatisko-normu-dati/resource/4ef4a2ac-b439-478a-83b3-cdd39b1eff77
| title = Klimatisko normu dati
| publisher = Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre
| accessdate = March 24, 2023
| url = https://klimats.meteo.lv/klimats/rekordi/
| title = Gaisa temperatūras rekordi
| publisher = Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre
| accessdate = March 24, 2023
}}
|source 2 = NOAA (precipitation days, humidity 1991-2020){{cite web
| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/4.4/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Latvia/CSV/Mersrags_26324.csv
| title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| accessdate = March 30, 2023
}}
}}
| style="width:100%;text-align:center;line-height:1.2em;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto" class="wikitable" |
| Colspan=14|Coastal temperature data for Mērsrags |
|---|
| Month
!Jan !Feb !Mar !Apr !May !Jun !Jul !Aug !Sep !Oct !Nov !Dec !style="border-left-width:medium"|Year |
| Average sea temperature °C (°F)
| style="{{Weather box/colt |
| 17.0}}"|1.9 (35.42) | style="{{Weather box/colt |
| 20.0}}"|1.0 (33.80) | style="{{Weather box/colt |
| 19.7}}"|1.1 (33.98) | style="{{Weather box/colt |
| 13.7}}"|2.9 (37.22) | style="{{Weather box/colt|2.7}}"|7.8 | style="{{Weather box/colt|16.4}}"|13.9 | style="{{Weather box/colt|24.2}}"|18.7 | style="{{Weather box/colt|24.2}}"|18.7 | style="{{Weather box/colt|19.1}}"|15.6 | style="{{Weather box/colt|12.9}}"|11.8 | style="{{Weather box/colt|5.3}}"|8.6 | style="{{Weather box/colt |
| 5.7}}"|5.3 (41.54) | style="{{Weather box/colt|6.3}}"|8.9 |
| Colspan=14 style="background:#ffffff;font-weight:normal;font-size:100%;"|Source 1: Seatemperature.net{{Cite web|url=https://seatemperature.net/current/latvia/mersrags-talsu-rajons-latvia-sea-temperature|title =Mērsrags Sea Temperature|date=2023-04-25|website=seatemperature.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425060119/https://seatemperature.net/current/latvia/mersrags-talsu-rajons-latvia-sea-temperature|archive-date=2023-04-25 }} |
References
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