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.

Posted in: Europe,Latvia