Daugavpils

Daugavpils (Daugpiļs in Latgalian, Даугавпилс in Russian, Dyneburg in Polish) is a 94,196 inhabitants city in the banks of Daugava River. This city is the second most important in Latvia and an important railway junction and industrial center which has a very important Russian-speaking population, largely outnumbering Latvian and Polish minorities.

 

 How do I arrive to Daugavpils?

  Daugavpils is the 2nd most important city in Latvia so there are many way to arrive there from all over the country and the neighbour ones. 

• Train: there are at least 4 trains to Riga (aprox. 4 hours) from Daugavpils, for 7€ (one way). There are daily trains to cities in neighbouring countries such as St. Petersburg (Russia) and weekly to Minsk (Belarus)
• Bus: there are many buses to Rēzekne (aprox. 2 hours) for 4€, Riga (3 hours 45 minutes) for 9€ or Krāslava (1 hour 15 minutes) from Daugavpils Bus Station. As 2nd most important city of Latvia it has connections with other countries like Vilnius (2 buses, aprox. 3.5 hours) in Lithuania, or Braslaw (4 buses, aprox. 2.5 hours) in Belarus.
• Car: having a car, Daugavpils is a very good starting point to reach different places like Slutiški (aprox. 30 minutes), Krāslava (aprox. 40 minutes), Aglona (aprox. 45 minutes), Rēzekne (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes), Rāzna National Park (aprox. 1 hour 30 minutes), Koknese (aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes) or Riga,(aprox. 3 hours). It can also be reached places in other countries like Utena (aprox. 1 hour 5 minutes) or Vilnius (aprox. 2 hours 30 minutes) in Lithuania or Braslaw (aprox. 50 minutes) in Belarus.

History

Daugavpils' history started when in 1275 the Livonian Order decided to build a castle 20 km far from the current location of the city, naming it Dünaburg Castle (also known as Dinaburga Castle). Since 1561 the castle fall to the Duchy of Lithuania (therefore was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), which was destroyed in 1577 by the Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible. A new castle was built in Daugavpils lands that same year and granted with Magdemburg rights in 1582. During 11 years it belonged to Russia in the Russo-Swedish War and after the partition of Poland (1772), it became part of the Russian Empire again, naming it Dvinsk. From 1784 onwards Daugavpils developed a prominent Jewish community (44% of the population in 1897), the biggest in east Latvia and the city started developing due to the construction of railway St. Petersburg-Warsaw and trade with Vitebsk by Daugava river. In the Latviand War of Independence, a coalition of Latvian and Polish forces defeated the Red Army in the battle of Daugavpils, forming part of the new state of Latvia with that name. In the WW2 the city was invaded by Nazi Germany (creating the Daugavpils Ghettowhere most of the Jews of the city died) and the Soviet Union. In the Soviet occupation during Cold War Lociki air-base was settled 12 km from Daugavpils and it got a very important industrial development (attracting a lot of Russian inmigrants who changed the composition of the population). The main celebrity of the city is Mark Rothko (born in a Jewish family which emigrated to the USA), artist who was said to belong to the abstract expressionism.

 

What can I visit in Daugavpils?

Daugavpils is thought to be a dull Soviet style city and, even though it was 70% destroyed after WW2, there are still some touristic attractions. Moreover Daugavpils is very well communicated and it's surrounding area is pretty interesting so it may be a good idea setting your base here to explore the region.

These are Daugavpils's main attractions:

• Daugavpils Fortress: fortress built by the Russian tsar Alexander I before the Napoleonic Wars. It has some Gothic or Egyptian decorative elements, most of its fortifications remain without changes and during WW2 a ghetto Stalag 340 was built here.
• Mark Rothko Art Center (11-19 Wed-Sat and 11-17 Tue and Sun; 8€/ 4€  adults/ retiree, students and kids): former arsenal of Dinaburg Fortress which is now a great museum about Mark Rothko (who was born in Daugavpils). There are some works by him, a biography focused in his early life and expositions on Latvian contemporary artists, making it one of the most important art museums in Latvia. People born between April 24th and September 25th get an extra discount (4€/ 2€  adults/ retiree, students and kids).
  
• Church Hill: this hill is an homage to multiculturality because four different types of Christianism have their shrines in the same street.These are the churches that are located here
  
  • Daugavpils Lutheran Cathedral: late 19th century Lutheran Neo-Gothic cathedral built with red bricks and which has a tower with great views of Daugavpils.
    
  • Jaunavas Marijas bezvainīgās ieņemšanas Catholic Church: Neo-Baroque church built in the 20th century that owns a nice Polish organ.
  • Sts. Borisa un Gļeba Russian Orthodox Church: 20th century church with a rich decoration and a lot of space, making it one of the most arranged in Latvia.
    
  • Daugavpils Old Believers' Church: biggest church of its kind in Latvia from 1928 which has some important icons of Vilnius master Ivan Mihailov.
    
• Daugavpils Shot Factory (just available with tours to the factory, the tower or shooting range): this place is the only ammunition production factory in the Baltic which can be visited and observe who ammunition was produced in the past. It also has the oldest shot casting tower in Europe (also functioning).
• Shmakovka Museum (11-19 Wed-Sat and 11-17 Sun; 3.50€/ 2.50€  adults/ retiree, students and kids): museum about the oldest Latgalian beverage (shmakovka) which enables the visitor to learn how it's made and try it. 
• Daugavpils Unity House: building designed using prisms and cubes that houses a theater, the city central library, several shops and cafes. Most principal cultural activities of the city take place here.
  
• Daugavpils Synagogue (available on request; donation): this Kadish synagogue was built in 1850 and repared after WW2. In the second floor it has the Jewish of Daugavpils and Latgave Museum, museum which shows Jewish life and traditions since 1935 and owns personal objects and religious items from Jews of Daugavpils and Latgave.
  
• Dubronin Park: park with more than 100 years that was created with support of Pavel Dubrovin (first major of the city) and has been a popular rest place for years.
  
• Daugavpils Local History and Art Museum (10-18 Tue-Sat, 10-16 Sun-Mon; ): museum that shows the history of Daugavpils with a collection of archaeological and ethnographical objetcs (woodcarvings, ceramics and textiles), one of the oldest ones in Latgale.
• Just 15 km east from Daugavpils can be found Jausvente Manor, 20th century mansion built for Count Michael Plater-Ziberg from the most important aristocratic family in Latgale transformed into a rural hotel. It has a famous restaurant and a museum of WW2 vehicles.
• On the way between Riga and Daugavpils there are some places where you can stop. The nearest one is Koknese (Kokenhausen in German, Kokenhuza in Polish, Ко́кнесе in Russian), 133 km from Daugavpils and 93 km from Riga. This historic town has Kokenhausen Castle Ruins, 13th century castle built by the Livonian Order in Daugava and Pērse rivers junction and a recently built park called The Garden of Destination (10-18; 1€/ 0.70€  adults/ kids) designed by Shunmyu Masuno. Once reached Jēkabpils, taking the road to Rēzekne, there's Teiči Nature Reserve, a reserve created to protect Teiči bog, one of the biggest in the Baltic countries.

View of Church Hill

Mark Rothko Art Center

Detail of Old Believers' art in Slutiški

Near Daugavpils, going next to the Daugava riverbed, there are some very interesting locations to explore. Going 30 km east appears the village of Slutiški (Слу́тишки in Russian), a village of Old Believers where the Third Latvian National Awakening started because a dam was going to be built and sink the village. The most important sightseeing point is Naujene Local History Museum (10-19 Wed-Sun from May to Sep; rest of the year under request; 2.50€/ 1.50€  adults/ retiree, students and kids), an small ethnographic museum which shows more about this village, Old Believers and, as wood carving masters, Slavonic architectural traditions. The ticket also allows to discover the Rural Court of Slutiški, unique example of spiritual and household culture of Old Believers and inhabitants of Daugavpils region. 

St. Ludvika Catholic Church

Continuing going east, 20 km from Slutiški and 27 km from Daugavpils, there's Krāslava (Kruoslova in Latgalian, Krasław is Polish, Краслаўка in Belarusian, Краслава in Russian), a relaxed town of 8,300 inhabitants just 6 km from the Belarusian border which has always being multicultural (inhabited by Polish, Latvians, Belarusians, Russians and Jews) and a former Plateri family territory. It has many interesting things to do like observing the 18th century Duke's Plateri Castle (can't be visited inside) or the near Krāslava History and Art Museum (10-17 Wed-Fri; 10-16 Sat; rest of the year under request; 0.70€/ 0.30€  adults/ retiree, students and kids), small museum which shows the peculiarity and uniqueness of Krāslava region. The most admired church in the town is St. Ludvika Catholic Church, 16th century Baroque style church (considered the most important Baroque church in Latgale) that has the relics of the martyr St. Donat. The town is also great to learn about craftarts in this region: traditional Latvian pottery (Dūmu iela 8 in there's a nice ceramists, Paulins family, which can teach to basic things or where you can buy souvenirs), Latgalian skalu deku wearing or woodcrafts. Driving 20 km north can be found Lake Drīdzis, the deepest lake in Latvia, a very nice place to practice outdoors activities and enjoy the beauty of the site.

Where can I eat in Daugavpils?

Daugavpils is a quite big city in Latvia but the gastronomic offer isn't quite important. Some of the highlights are Gubernators (Lāčplēša iela 10) with Russian food, the cafe LUNA (Mihoelsa iela 68-1A) or a very nice bar called Artilērijas Pagrabi (Rīgas iela 22). In this are kvass (alcoholic drink from rye bread) is very typical and can be tried in several places.

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Rēzekne

Rēzekne (Rēzne in Latgalian, Резекне in Russian, Rositten in German) is a 31,216 inhabitants town placed in the Rēzekne river Valley in the region of Latgalia in Latvia, not far from the Russian border (63 km). Its nickname is The Heart of Latgale (Latgolys sirds in Latgalian) and it's an intersection of railways like Ventpils-Moscow and St. Petersbourg-Warsaw. Rēzekne is the 7th most-populated town in Latvia.

 

How do I arrive to Rēzekne?

  Rēzekne is a border town which is pretty well communicated by public transportation. 

• Train: there's an important train route between Riga and Zilupe that stops at Rēzekne. It's 3.5 hours from Riga (7.20€) and 1 hour away from Zilupe (2.35€). You can also reach Rēzekne from Daugavpils changing of train in Krustpils.
• Bus: there are at least 6 daily buses from Rēzekne to Riga (4 hours 15 minutes) and at least 4 to Daugavpils (2 hours). From Rēzekne there are also at least 3 buses from Rēzekne to Ludza (30 min) for 1.70€.
• Car: if the visitor has a car, Rēzekne can be reach from Ludza (aprox. 25 minutes), Rāzna National Park (aprox. 35 minutes), from Daugavpils (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes) or from Riga (aprox. 3 hours). It's a border town with neighbouring Russia so places like Pskov or Ostov (aprox. 2 hours 30 minutes to both) can be reached from Rēzekne.

History

The area of Rēzekne was inhabited by Latgalians, tribe who built a hill fort in the current area of the town between the 9th and 13th century. It was destroyed by German crusaders of the Livonian Order and built a stone castle, Rēzekne castle. Having being attacked several times by Lithuanians and Russians, Rēzekne became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the peace of Jam Zapolski (1582) in the Livonian War (being granted Magdemburg rights in the 17th century). In the partition of Poland it fell to the Russian Empire and the town changed from a country town to an important city when the railway St. Petersburg-Warsaw was built. In 1917 Rēzekne hosted the first Latgalian congress (declaring the intention to join an independent Latvia) and after the declaration of independence and the Latvian War of Independence, it became the cultural center of Latgale. The town was hardly damaged during WW2 by both Nazi German and Soviet Army, being rebuilt afterwards under the Soviet domination with an emphasis on industrial development (during this period many Russian inmigrants moved to the town). Unlike the rest of Latvia, Latgale a is mostly Catholic region (65.8% of the population), with important Orthodox minorities (13.8%) and Old Believers (10%). In the past it had a large Jewish population. 

 

What can I visit in Rēzekne?

Rēzekne is a town with low interest but which is a great point to visit Latgale region. The main street in town is Atbrīvošanas aleja and its most beautiful one, Latgales iela. In the town's surroundings hiking may be nice and cultural events can be attended in the spectacular GORS.

These are Rēzekne's main attractions:

• Rēzekne Castle Ruins: ruins of a castle built by ancient Latgalians (between 9th and 13th century) and then ruled by the Livonian Order. The castle was destroyed in the Polish-Swedish war (but a reconstrution of how it was can be found near).
• Sāpju Dievmātes Catholic Church: chuch ruled by the Marian fathers that was built in 1939.
• Vissvētākās Dievdzemdētājas Piedzimšanas Russian Orthodox Church: 19th century church which has been rebuilt several times. It has a glass chapel where General Karaulov (patron of the church) was buried.
  
• Latgales Māra: bronze statue which conmemorates the liberation of Latgale from the Red Army in November 1920 but removed during the Soviet occupations. It's one of the most famous statues in Latvi.
• Latgale Culture and History Museum (10-18 Wed-Sat and 11-17 Sun from Jun to Aug; 10-18 Tue-Sat from Sep to May): museum which shows the history, traditions and culture of this region of Latvia. It also has temporary expositions.
• Green Synagogue (10-15 Wed and Sat): small  synagogue built in 1845, when the train line started to get developed and many people started living in Rēzekne. It shows the history of Jews in Rēzekne and in Latgale.
• Rēzekne Catholic Cathedral: cathedral finished in 1902, first built as a wooden church that got burnt in 1887, is one of the largest Catholic cathedrals and cathedrals in general in Latvia. It's curved wooden altars and stained glasses are interesting to be seen.
• St. Nikolaja Old Believers Church: 19th century complex with a 3-bells belfry (one of them is the biggest in the Baltic countries) and a museum which shows the daily life of Latgalian Old-Believers.

Rēzekne Catholic Cathedral

Latgales Māra

View of Ludza and Ludza Catholic Church

Near Rēzekne, 25 km east, can be found the municipality of Ludza (Lucyn in Polish, Ludsen in German, Лудза in Russian), town located between the lakes Small Ludza Lake and Great Ludza Lake and founded in 1177, considered the oldest in the country. The main interesting points are Ludza Castle Ruins, castle built by the Livonian Order in 1399 and destroyed in the 18th century, and Ludza Craft Center (9-17 Mon-Fri and 9-15 Sun from Jun to Aug; open upon request from Sep to May), ethnographic museum with local crafts like wool cloths, sewing and ceramic. It has other nice places like Ludza Museum (8-17 Tue-Fri and 8-15 Sat-Sun from Jul to Aug; 8-17 Mon-Fri and 10-17 Sat from Sep to Jun; 2€/ 1.5€/ 1€  adults/ retired/ students and kids), exposition which shows the history, nature and traditions of the region, located in General Kulnev's house (hero of war against Napoleon); Ludza Catholic Church, church first built in the 17th century by the Poles; Ludza Lutheran Church, 19th century church which used to be one of the biggest in Latvia but which was partially destroyed during Soviet times;

Lake Lubāns

Ludza Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Classicism style church from the 19th century with a nice inner part; and Ludza Great Synagogue (13-17 Tue-Fri and 10-14 Sat; 2€/ 1€  adults/ students and kids), a wooden synagogue from the year 1800, considered one of the oldest in the Baltic countries.
Not so far from Rēzekne (45 km) can be visited the biggest (although not deep at all) lake in Latvia, Lake Lubāns. It's a great place to practice birdwatching of swans or eagles, fishing and it is surrounded by dark fir forests. There's an information point called Bāka (a former lighthouse) which rents boats and equipment to windsurf.

Where can I eat in Rēzekne?

There are some intereresting places to eat in Rēzekne like Rozalija (Brīvības iela 14/2) and Mols (Latgales iela 22/24) where there are typical Latgalian food. Surprisingly, Ausmeņa Kebabs (Rancāna iela 41) is very popular among locals, specially to have a drink. 

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Posted in: Europe,Latvia