Dzegužkalns Park is located in the capital city of Latvia, on the highest point of Riga - Cuckoo Mountain (28 metres above sea level). The park is located almost 3 km from the city centre. Kukushkina Hill is located in the Riga microdistrict Ilguciems, the length of the hill is about 1 km, and the width reaches 300 meters; the entire territory of this dune, formed about 10 thousand years ago, is occupied by a park.
In 1547 Martins Dzeguze lived on the top of the hill, from him, by the way, the name Dzeguzkalns was derived. In the mid-18th century, this place became popular among sectarians. Around the same time, the house disappeared and a cemetery appeared in its place. At first it was used to bury soldiers who died in the infirmary nearby. It's thought that ordinary people were buried here after the cholera epidemic the cholera epidemic that ravaged the area in 1831. There was no one to look after such a mass grave.
In 1845, the magistrate appointed a watchman to the site, whose duties included to account for the dead. When the parish of St Martin's Church was formed here, the duties of recording the burials in the cemetery passed to him. In 1865, a house was built for the needs of the shelter, and five years later a chapel appeared.
In 1906, the city council received a request to close the cemetery, as the it was full. It was much more expedient to expand the park, which had already had begun to take shape in the neighbourhood. A year later, the request was fulfilled.
That there were no gardens in the neighbourhood was noticed as early as 1893. At that time workers from the neighbouring factories donated 430 roubles to create a park, the remaining part was given by the city. The realisation of the project developed by Georg Kufaldt, began in 1900 and lasted 7 years. In order to keep the soil was taken from the Spilva meadows and peat was spared. A small coffee pavilion appeared at the top of the mountain, and a stage was built at the foot, on which a military band performed. It became cosy and many people came to admire the view from the mountain.
There are a couple of legends connected with Dziegužkalns Park. According to one of them, in the Middle Ages an underground passage from Old Riga led to Kukushkina Hill. Another legend is even older and and tells of a rich knight named Raup. Once he died in an unequal battle and turned into a mountain, and his beloved into a cuckoo. Her pain and suffering was inconsolable, and she kept flying and cuckooing over the dune. That's why the place was called Dzeguzkalns - Cuckoo Mountain. From here you can enjoy a magnificent view of Riga. Now the park has a stage, stairs, paths and a children's playground.
