Daugavpils - City of Latvia

Daugavpils is the second largest city in Latvia. It is located approximately 230 km south-east of the Latvian capital, Riga, on the banks of the Daugava River. Daugavpils has a favorable geographical position as it borders Belarus and Lithuania . It is located some 120 km from the Latvian border with Russia. Daugavpils is a big railway junction and industry centre.

The city is surrounded by many lakes and nature parks.

Daugavpils has been referred to by several historical names in various languages. Some are still in use today.

Belarusian
German
Finnish
Latgalian
Lithuanian
Polish
Russian
Yiddish

The town's history began in 1275 when the stone castle Dinaburg was built by the Livonian Order in the lands nominally controlled by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1561 it became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (see: Duchy of Livonia) and in 1620 became capital of the Inflanty Voivodeship, which existed until the First Partition of Poland.

From 1784 onwards, the city had a large and active Jewish population with proeminent personalities.

As part of the Russian Empire it was called Borisoglebsk and Dvinsk. The town was renamed Daugavpils in 1920 as part of independent Latvia. The city was the site of the Battle of Daugavpils from 1919 to 1920. Dvinsk was part of the Soviet Union 1940-41 and 1944-1991 and Nazi occupied from 1941-44. The town was the scene of fierce Jewish resistance during those years. During the Cold War it was the site of the Lociki air base, 12 km northeast of the town itself.

Daugavpils is an important cultural center in eastern Latvia. There are 22 primary and secondary schools, four vocational schools, and the Saules College of Art. More than 1,000 teachers and engineers graduate from Daugavpils Pedagogical University and the local branch of Riga Technical University annually.

The city theatre was restored a couple of years ago. There is also one cinema as well as other cultural institutions. The city exhibition center offers many cultural activities.

There are also several architectural, historical, and cultural monuments in Daugavpils. The most prominent is the Daugavpils Fortress of the 18th century.