On May 1, 2021 Mārtiņš was buried in the Limbiķi Cemetery.
Nearby is the “Iļģi” social care centre, whose residents Mārtiņš had ministered to for many years. For his final resting place, Mārtiņš chose the farthest, abandoned section of the cemetery, where deceased “Iļģi” residents are buried.
The last project Mārtiņš charged us with is to erect a monument in this part of the cemetery dedicated to the people buried there. The monument will depict Jesus with open arms, and the inscription will read:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Since Mārtiņš passed away, many people near and far have already expressed a desire to help realise this project. To that end, we have set up donation accounts in Latvia and Germany.
Donation Account in Latvia
Liepājas Diakonijas centrs
Reģ. Nr. 40008103059
A/S SWEDBANK
IBAN: LV02HABA0551041046695
BIC: HABALV22
Note: Ziedojums Mārtiņa Urdzes piemineklim
Donation Account in Germany
Ev.-Luth. Kirchengemeinde Osternburg
Landessparkasse zu Oldenburg
IBAN: DE21280501000023405483
BIC: SLZODE22XXX
Überweisungszweck: Lettlandhilfe – Christusfigur – M. Urdze
Creation of the Statue of Jesus
Ojārs Feldbergs agrees to create the statue of Jesus in the Limbiķi Cemetery
A suitable fieldstone for the statue is found
Creation of a life-size model of the statue in clay
Making a plaster cast of the model
Chiseling the statue in stone
Prepartion work at Limbiķi Cemetery
Inauguration of the Jesus statue at the Limbiķi Cemetery
The unveiling of the Jesus statue in the Limbiķi Cemetery, which was originally scheduled for August 26, 2023, has been postponed until the spring of 2024.
Ojārs Feldbergs
Born 10 January 1947 in Riga. Ojārs Feldbergs’ father had recently returned from forced exile in Russia but was deported again in March 1949. Feldbergs lived in the Sarkandaugava district of Riga with his mother and younger brother and studied building construction at a technical school. In 1976, he graduated from the Sculpture Department of the Art Academy of Latvia.
After Latvia regained its independence in 1990, Feldbergs moved to his father’s native parish of Abava and in 1991 purchased the former manor house of Firkspedvāle Estate, next to which he established the Pedvāle Open-Air Art Museum. In 2018, it was renamed Pedvāle Art Park.
Feldbergs’ work can be found in the Latvian Artists’ Union Museum, the Latvian National Museum of Art, the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and other museums as well as private collections.
Detailed Description of the Project
A detailed description of the project is available in Latvian and German.