A cup won in the 1938 Choir Wars is presented at the Jelgava / Article Museum

In the Ęedertas Elias Museum of History and Art in Jelgava, there is only a small exhibit on the general festival of Latvian singing, as most of the evidence was burned during World War II. Now the place in the small gallery is occupied by a special cup, won by the parish choir of Trikātas in 1938 at the 9th General Song Festival.

Jelgava District Elias Museum’s principal specialist, Inese Deksne, says, “The Song Wars were renewed at the 9th Song Festival. They were divided into a rural choir group and a city choir group. Third place is was won by the mixed choir of the Trikāta Church, led by Daumants Kalniņš. “

As the museum’s foremost specialist tells ReTV, the silver cup with the gilt interior has no direct connection to Jelgava or Zemgali, but has been in Jelgava for many decades.

“Of course, we could not keep this Ulman-era property for everyone to see and be proud of the fact that we own it. As a result, Daumants Vītoliņš had already left Trikāta in 1940, but in 1944 he went abroad, took it to be guarded by the pastor of the Church of Trikāta Ozoliņš “, explains Inese Deksne.

Subsequently, the shepherd was transferred to Jelgava, and the cup made by the Latvian Society of Riga left him. The daughter-in-law of pastor Zelma Ozoliņa, who has now donated the cup to the Elias Museum, says she knows about its existence, even though no one in the house spoke of it aloud: “I was not afraid, because then I did” I really appreciate. I came to Jelgava when I was young, I saw that cup, I read what it was for, but it didn’t occur to me that I was afraid of anything. Now the time has come when I realized that keeping such a treasure in the house would simply be a shame. “

Inga Boškina, Trikāta regional historian, said she knew that the people of Trikāta had received such a cup, but it is not known where it went: “Immediately after 1938, it was already 1940, when such awards could no longer be kept. nowhere. I did not know the fate of the cup, even though I saw it in an old photograph. A very big surprise “.

From now on, the cup earned by the Trikatians in the 1938 Choral Wars will be kept in Jelgava. Elia Museum. As Mrs. Ozoliņa explains to ReTV, she chose to donate the cup to the Elias Museum because she has fallen in love with this city for over half a century and she considers herself a patriot of Jelgava.

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