Alsunga

Alsunga (also Alšvanga, German: Alschwangen) is a village in Alsunga Municipality, Latvia. Alsunga is the center of the Suiti, a small Catholic community in the Lutheran western part of Latvia.[1] There are approximately 1345 inhabitants in Alsunga.

Alsunga Saint Michael Roman Catholic Church

Alsunga Alšvanga
Village
Alsunga village
Alsunga Location in Latvia
Coordinates: 56°59′N 21°34′E
Country	Latvia
District	Alsunga municipality
First mentioned in	1230
Government
• Mayor	Daiga Kalnina
Population
• Total	1,345
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	LV-3306
Calling code	+371 6335
Number of city council members	13
Website	www.alsunga.lv

Alsunga was first mentioned in 1230, as an old settlement of Curonians with Curonian name and typical suffix -anga- (comp. Alšvanga, Palanga). In 1372, a castle was built for the vogt of Kuldīga komtur. In 1561 Alsunga became the part of the predominantly Lutheran Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. In 1567 the Saint Michael church was built. In 1623 the local landowner, Johan Ulrich von Schwerin, in order to marry a Catholic court lady Barbara Konarska from Vilnius, agreed to himself become Catholic. After the marriage he lived in Lithuania and Poland until 1632, when he returned to Alsunga after his father's death. In 1634 Johan Ulrich invited Jesuits to establish a mission in Alsunga to help him transfer all his peasants to Catholic faith.

On October 1, 2009, the Suiti cultural space was included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.[2]