Vērgale Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Memorial to Lovers

Vērgales ev. lut. baznīca, Vērgale, Dienvidkurzemes novads

+371 29338335, +371 22039019

The church was founded in 1597. The first masonry building might have been constructed at the end of the 17th century. Beneath the church were tombs, which were filled in 1841 when the Vērgale church was rebuilt. In 1985, the church was demolished. It was rebuilt in 1992. Surrounding the church are cemeteries. On one of the gravestones, the words "We could not do otherwise..." are engraved. Every resident of Vērgale knows the tragic story of the lovers – the son of Baron Stempel and the servant girl Anna Lazdiņa. They took their lives in 1912 by shooting themselves because social prejudices prevented them from being together in this life. They chose to be together in death, leaving a posthumous letter asking to be buried in the same grave.