Daugavpils

Daugavpils is a city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. It is the second-largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some 230 kilometres to its north-west. Daugavpils is located relatively close to Belarus and Lithuania, and some 120 km from the Latvian border with Russia. Daugavpils is a major railway junction and industrial centre and was an historically important garrison city lying approximately midway between Riga and Minsk, and between Warsaw and Saint Petersburg. Daugavpils, then Dyneburg, was the capital of Polish-Lithuanian Livonia while in Poland-Lithuania. Following the first partition of Poland in 1772, the city became part of the Russian Empire. Since the Second World War, it has maintained an overwhelmingly Russian-speaking population, with Latvians and Poles being significant minorities. Historically, German and Yiddish were additional prominent native languages.

Liepaja

Liepāja is a city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region and the third largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-free port. The population in 2020 was 68,535 people. In the 19th and early 20th century, it was a favourite place for sea-bathers, with the town boasting a fine park, many pretty gardens and a theatre. Liepāja is however known throughout Latvia as "City where the wind is born", likely because of the constant sea breeze. A song of the same name was composed by Imants Kalniņš and has become the anthem of the city. Its reputation as the windiest city in Latvia was strengthened with the construction of the largest wind farm in the nation nearby. The coat of arms of Liepāja was adopted four days after the jurisdiction gained city rights on 18 March 1625.These are described as: "on a silver background, the lion of Courland with a divided tail, who leans upon a linden tree with its forelegs". The flag of Liepāja has the coat of arms in the center, with red in the top half and green in the bottom. One of the very few surviving films documenting the mass murder of Jews during the first stages of the Holocaust is a short film by a German soldier who witnessed the massacre of Liepāja Jews in July 1941 near the city's lighthouse.

Jelgava

Everyone is invited to come, get to know, and fall in love with Jelgava – one of the largest cities in Latvia with ancient history. Guests of the city will have the opportunity to relax, gain new impressions, and enrich their cultural life. Jelgava is a city in central Latvia about 41 kilometres southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants. It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and the administrative center of the Courland Governorate. Jelgava is situated on a fertile plain rising only 3.5 metres above mean sea level on the right bank of the river Lielupe. At high water the plain and sometimes the town as well can be flooded. It is a railway center and is also host to Jelgava Air Base. Its importance as a railway centre can be seen by the fact that it lies at the junction of over 6 railway lines connecting Riga to Lithuania, eastern and western Latvia, and Lithuania to the Baltic sea.