Gulbene (pronunciation^ⓘ; German: Schwanenburg) is a town in northeastern Latvia. It is an administrative center of Gulbene Municipality.^[3][4]

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Gulbene
Town
Flag Coat of arms
Gulbene Location in Latvia
Coordinates: 57°10′N 26°45′E
Country	Latvia
District	Gulbene Municipality
Town rights	1928
Government
• Chairman of the Municipality Council	Andis Caunītis
Area [1]
• Total	11.91 km2 (4.60 sq mi)
• Land	11.53 km2 (4.45 sq mi)
• Water	0.38 km2 (0.15 sq mi)
Population  (2023)[2]
• Total	6,782
• Density	570/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	LV-4401
Calling code	+371 644
Number of city council members	11
Climate	Dfb
Website	www.gulbene.lv

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The area of this region is 11.898 km² (4.594 sq mi), with a population of 29,797 inhabitants (69,369 sealen^{[clarification needed]}, 10,015 urban, 19,782 rural population).

Historical documents first mention the 1224 land division act between the Order of the Sword Brothers and the Archbishop of Riga.^[5] In the 14th century, the Archbishop built a stone castle around which a populated place was formed.

The Evangelical Lutheran church (Brivības iela 13) was built on the ancient Latgalian castle mound in place of the later Middle Age brick castle from 1838–1843. The church is built in the classical style.

Vecgulbene (Old Gulbene) estate complex was built in the middle and second half of the 19th century not far off the church. The most significant buildings are the White Palace (Brivības iela 12), the Red Palace (Parka iela 1) and the magazine granary (Brivības iela 9). Both palaces have been destroyed and rebuilt several times. Since 1924 the elementary school of the city occupies the Red Palace.

After the construction of the Stukmani to Valka narrow-gauge railway in 1903 and subsequent broad-gauge line construction during World War I, Vecgulbene was established as an important railway junction, and in 1920 it was given the rights of a small village. During the first period of Latvian independence, besides those employed by the railways, small business, trades and crafts were the most important economic activities in the town. Gulbene was heavily damaged during the last years of World War II. After the war, during the Soviet occupation, Gulbene initially became a district, and later, in 1950, a regional centre. In the 1960s and 1970s branches of several major industrial companies were established in the city. Local enterprise was mainly involved with wood processing.

The most architecturally significant building in the area is the passenger building at Gulbene railway station, built in 1926 by the well-known professor of architecture Peteris Feders (1868 – 1936). It is one of the largest and most magnificent railway station buildings in Latvia.

There is one major town in the Gulbene municipality, and the region is separated into 13 smaller rural parishes. Gulbene is being developed as an environmentally-friendly territory.^{[citation needed]}

Within existing limits, according to CSB data.^[9]

Population changes

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

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Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1935 3,819 —     1959 7,178 +88.0% 1970 8,722 +21.5% 1979 9,484 +8.7%	Year Pop. ±% 1989 10,346 +9.1% 2000 9,620 −7.0% 2011 8,314 −13.6% 2021 7,040 −15.3%
Source: Latvian Geospatial Information Agency

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The Gulbenes Regional History and Art Museum displays one of the most valuable relics of Latvian museums - a chair designed by Julius Madernieks (1870–1955) made in the 1920s. Julius Madernieks was the founder of Latvian professional applied art born in Vecgulbenes parish and being notable person in city Gulbene.

The Gulbene region is served by a newspaper, Dzirkstele.^[10][11]

• Gulbene Railway Station
• Red Castle of Gulbene
• Building on the Vidus street in Gulbene
• War of independence Monument in Gulbene
• Lutheran church
• Church of the Most Holy Sacrament
• Gulbene Police Station
• Park with a fountain

• Babruysk, Belarus
• Rietavas, Lithuania
• Them, Denmark

• Augusts Malvess (1878-1951), architect
• Gido Kokars (1921-2017), conductor, choirmaster
• Imants Kokars (1921-2011), conductor, choirmaster
• Inguna Sudraba (born 1964), politician
• Arvis Piziks (born 1969), cyclist
• Anmary (born 1980), singer
• Madara Līduma (born 1982), biathlete
• Edgars Maskalāns (born 1982), bobsledder
• Intars Dambis (born 1983), bobsledder
• Jānis Paipals (born 1983), cross-country skier
• Daumants Dreiškens (born 1984), bobsledder
• Rolands Freimanis (born 1988), basketball player

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gulbene.

• List of cities in Latvia