Daugavpils in Brief
Daugavpils is the second largest city in Latvia. The first historical reference goes back to 1275. Thus, in the year 2005 the 730th anniversary of the city was celebrated. Daugavpils is located approximately 230 km south-east of the capital of Latvia, Riga, on the banks of the Daugava River which is over 1000 km in length and which flows from its source in Russia, through Belorus and Latvia before entering the Baltic Sea via the Gulf of Riga.
The city has a favorable geographical position as it borders Belarus and Lithuania (distances of 33 and 25 km respectively). It is located around 120 km from the borderline with Russia. In 2012 the population of Daugavpils was 100 006 inhabitants (Russians – 51.04%, Latvians – 17,09%, Polish – 14,2%, Byelorussians – 7,05% and Ukrainians – 2.01%). Taking into account the proximity to the borders and the multinational composition of the population, three consulates (Russian, Belarusian and Lithuanian) are functioning in the city.
Daugavpils is a big industrial centre and railway junction in the southeast of Latvia. It has railway connections with Riga, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vilnius and Panevezhis. There are facilities and capacities for the development of air traffic. The industry of the city is represented by eighteen major enterprises, but in general there are around 1,900 enterprises are operating in the city. All main Latvian commercial banks have their branches in Daugavpils.
Daugavpils is an important cultural centre in Eastern Latvia. There are 20 primary and secondary schools, 8 vocational schools and “Saules” school. More than 1 000 teachers and engineers graduate from Daugavpils University and local branch of the Riga Technical University annually.
The city theatre was restored a couple of years ago. Besides, there is also a cinema and other cultural institutions. The city exhibition centre offers various cultural activities. There is a number of architectural, historical and cultural monuments in Daugavpils. The most prominent is the Daugavpils Fortress of the XIX century, which remained virtually unchanged. Daugavpils Mark Rotko Art centre, a multifunctional centre of contemporary art, culture and education, is also situated at Daugavpils Fortress. Beautiful lakes surround the city. All this makes the city a promising region for the development of international tourism.
More information: http://www.latgale.lv, http://www.daugavpils.lv