Anna Bērzkalne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anna Bērzkalne
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Bērzkalne, by Foto Klio (1915–1930)
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15 January 1891
Āriņi, Vējava Parish (now Madona Municipality), Kreis Wenden, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire
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| Died | 1 March 1956 (aged 65) |
| Nationality | Latvian |
| Education | Kazan Higher Women's Courses University of Tartu |
| Occupation | educator, folklorist |
| Years active | 1920–1956 |
| Awards | Krišjānis Barons Prize (1933) |
Anna Bērzkalne (born January 15, 1891 – died March 1, 1956) was a very important Latvian teacher and expert in folklore. Folklore is the study of traditional stories, customs, and beliefs of a community. She started the Archives of Latvian Folklore in 1924. This was a special place to collect and keep Latvian folk tales and songs. She led this organization for its first five years.
Anna Bērzkalne was the first Latvian person to get a degree in Folkloric Studies. She is known as one of the main people who helped make folklore a proper academic subject in Latvia. In 1933, she won the Krišjānis Barons Prize for her work on Latvian folk ballads.
Early Life and Education
Anna Bērzkalne was born on January 15, 1891. Her birthplace was Āriņš, in what is now Madona Municipality in Latvia. She was the oldest of five children in her family.
She went to the Vējava Parish School. Later, from 1903 to 1908, she studied at a private school called Atis Ķeniņš Gymnasium. After finishing school, she became a qualified teacher.
From 1909 to 1911, Anna taught at the Ķemeri School. In 1913, she went to the Kazan Higher Women's Courses in Russia. There, she studied languages and folklore. Her teacher, Walter Anderson, was a leading expert in Russian folklore. He taught her to compare different versions of folk tales to see how they changed over time and in different places. In 1917, she earned her degree in Philology, which is the study of language.
Career and Research
After getting her degree, Anna Bērzkalne worked at a Latvian Refugee School in Kazan. In 1920, she returned to Latvia after the Latvian War of Independence. She started teaching at the Riga State Secondary School No. 2. This job gave her a steady income, which allowed her to continue her important research. She taught there until 1944.
While teaching, Anna continued her studies at the University of Tartu in 1922. In 1924, she started the Archives of Latvian Folklore. This was a special collection center for national folklore. It was the first of its kind in the Baltic states. She traveled to Denmark, Finland, and Germany to learn how other countries organized their folklore archives.
Anna Bērzkalne worked with many famous folklorists from Finland. She also created lists of Latvian folklore for an international publication. In 1929, she had to step down as the head of the Archives. At that time, it was very unusual for women to hold such high academic positions.
In the 1930s, she published articles in an international folklore journal. In 1933, her book about different types of longer Latvian folk songs won the important Krišjānis Barons Prize. In 1935, she finished her advanced studies at Tartu. She wrote her doctoral thesis in English, which was a quiet way to show her disagreement with the Nazi occupation of Latvia. In 1942, she became the first Latvian folklorist to earn a doctoral degree in comparative folkloristics.
After World War II, in 1945, the Archives of Latvian Folklore moved to the University of Latvia. Anna Bērzkalne returned to work there. However, the new Soviet government wanted folklore studies to follow new rules. Anna believed that academic study should be free from political ideas. She tried to adapt her work but found it hard to follow the new Soviet methods. She openly disagreed with these methods and lost her job.
Later Life and Legacy
Anna Bērzkalne passed away on March 1, 1956, and was buried in the Forest Cemetery in Riga. For a long time after her death, her work was not recognized during the Soviet period.
However, after the Soviet era, her work became important again. She is now remembered as the first Latvian to get a degree in Folkloric Studies. She is also celebrated as the founder of the Archives of Latvian Folklore. Anna Bērzkalne is seen as a key person in making folklore a respected academic subject in Latvia. She wrote 52 studies, helping to share Latvian folklore with the world and bring international folklore to Latvia. Her papers are kept at the Academic Library of the University of Latvia.
