VALMIERA, a town (since 1783) and district centre (Republic of Latvia). Founded in 1210. Incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1721. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the county town of Wolmar in the Governorate of Livonia. From 1918 to 1940, it was part of the Republic of Latvia; from 1940 to 1991 — the Latvian SSR.

In 1866, Valmiera had 14 Jewish residents (1% of the population); in 1881 — 27 (1%); in 1897 — 166 (3%); in 1910 — 120; in 1920 — 102 (2%); in 1925 — 96 (1%); in 1930 — 127 (2%); and in 1935 — 93 Jews (1%).

The first Jews in Valmiera, in the mid-19th century, were retired soldiers from the reign of Nicholas I. A synagogue was opened in 1881. By 1910, the town had a Jewish cemetery. Most Jews earned a living through small-scale trade. In 1922, a Jewish school was opened, followed by a mutual credit association in 1923.

German forces occupied Valmiera on 4 July 1941. All Jews from the town and nearby localities were murdered between October and November 1941. After the town’s liberation from the Nazi in September 1944, mass graves of the executed Jews were discovered in the yard of the local prison.