History of Ļaudona Parish

In the 12th–13th centuries, the left bank of the Aiviekste River was part of the Gerdene castle district, centered around the Sāviena Hillfort. In 1274, the Archbishop of Riga ordered the construction of a castle at the confluence of the Svētupe and Aiviekste rivers, which he frequently used as his residence.

In 1457, Ļaudona was mentioned in the list of castles that have their own castle district and parish.

In 1568, Chodkiewicz, the Polish-appointed governor of Vidzeme, granted the Ļaudona castle district and castle to K. J. Bankov for lifelong use.

In 1575, the Ļaudona castle district was granted to J. Tiesenhausen, his wife Elizabeth (née Plater) and their son for lifelong use. During the Livonian War, Russian troops destroyed the castle, after which the owners of the manor changed frequently.

The territory of the present-day Ļaudona Parish historically contained the Ļaudona Manor (Laudohn, Liograd) with Toce and Ancīši (Anzeht) semi-manors, the Ļaudona pastor's manor, Sāviena (Sawensee) Manor, Aburta (Lügen) Manor, Aiviekste (Eustehn) Manor, and the semi-manors of Ozoli, Valdeķi (Waldeck), and Muižnieki.

In 1613, the Ļaudona Manor became the property of the Swedish Crown, but in the following years the owners of the manor changed. Until the agrarian reform, the manor was managed by I. Rušmanis. Toce Manor was first mentioned in 1432.

In 1838, Fr. F. Meiners became the owner of Toce Manor. In 1870, M. Meinere mortgaged the manor to I. Rušmanis, who became its owner in 1879. Sāviena Manor was a property of the Tiesenhausen family for many years.

During the 1905 revolution, the manor was burned down. During the agrarian reform, the Ļaudona Manor with its semi-manors (area 1,946 ha) was divided into 148 units. The Ļaudona pastor's manor (1,200 ha) into 42 units, and the Sāviena Manor (2,943 ha) into 196 units.

In 1935, there were 541 farms in Ļaudona Parish: arable land covered 4,567 ha, meadows – 2,001 ha, pastures – 2,061 ha, and forests – 1,532 ha. The most widely grown grain crops were oats (16% of the total sown area), barley (10%), and rye (10%). Potatoes accounted for 6%, and flax for 4%. A mill, a wool carding mill, a sawmill, a wool processing workshop, 4 skimming points, and 4 hairdressing salons operated in the parish. Sāviena Parish had 230 farms, where arable land occupied 2,352 ha, meadows – 1,160 ha, pastures – 748 ha, and forests – 482 ha. A mill and a sawmill operated there. In 1935, the area of Ļaudona Parish was 12,120 ha.

In 1945, the villages of Kalnvirsa, Ļaudona, and Pārupe were established in Ļaudona Parish, but the parish itself was abolished in 1949. In 1954, the abolished villages of Kalnvirsa and Pārupe were merged into the village of Ļaudona; in 1964, a part of Mētriena village was added, and in 1975, Sāviena village was annexed.

In 1990, Ļaudona Parish was restored.