parade in front of President
Kārlis Ulmanis in Gulbene Historical documents first mention the 1224 land division act between the
Order of the Sword Brothers and the
Archbishop of Riga. In the 14th century, the Archbishop built a stone castle around which a populated place was formed. The
Evangelical Lutheran church (Brivības iela 13) was built on the ancient
Latgalian castle mound in place of the later Middle Age brick castle from 1838.–1843. The church is built in the
classical style. Vecgulbene (Old Gulbene) estate complex was built in the middle and second half of the 19th century not far off the church. The most significant buildings are the White Palace (Brivības iela 12), the Red Palace (Parka iela 1) and the magazine granary (Brivības iela 9). Both palaces have been destroyed and rebuilt several times. Since 1924 the elementary school of the city occupies the Red Palace. Since 2004, the Administration of
Stradi Parish occupies a part of the palace. After the construction of the
Stukmani to
Valka narrow-gauge railway in 1903 and subsequent broad-gauge line construction during
World War I, Vecgulbene was established as an important railway junction, and in 1920 it was given the rights of a small village. During the first period of Latvian independence, besides those employed by the railways, small business, trades and crafts were the most important economic activities in the town. Gulbene was heavily damaged during the last years of
World War II. After the war, during the Soviet occupation, Gulbene initially became a district, and later, in 1950, a regional centre. In the 1960s and 1970s branches of several major industrial companies were established in the city. Local enterprise was mainly involved with
wood processing. The most architecturally significant building in the area is the passenger building at Gulbene railway station, built in 1926 by the well-known professor of architecture
Peteris Feders (1868–1936). It is one of the largest and most magnificent railway station buildings in Latvia. {{Collapsible list | expand = | framestyle = | titlestyle = | title = Services at Gulbene Station | liststyle = | hlist = | bullets = | ==1999 massacre==