Daugavpils (Dvinsk, Dünaburg) is the second largest city in Latvia. The first historical reference goes back to 1275. Thus, the year 2000 will be celebrated as the 725th anniversary of the city. Between 1561 and 1772 belonged to Poland and were called Dyneburg, capital of Polish Livonia.
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 Byelorussia and Latvia before entering the Baltic Sea via the Gulf of Riga.
The city has a favourable geographical position as it borders with Belarus and Lithuania (distances of 33 and 25 km respectively). It is located some 120 km from the borderline with Russia.
Daugavpils is an important cultural centre in Eastern Latvia. There are 22 primary and secondary schools, 4 vocational schools and "Saules" school. More than 1,000 teachers and engineers graduate from the Daugavpils Pedagogical University and local branch of the Riga Technical University annually.
The city theatre was restored a couple of years ago. Besides, there are also cinemas and other cultural institutions. The city exhibition centre offers a lot of cultural activities.
There are many architectural, historical and cultural monuments in Daugavpils. The most prominent is the Daugavpils Fortress of the eighteenth century.
The city is surrounded by beautiful lakes. All this makes the city a promising region for the development of international tourism.
One of the most famous persons born in Daugavpils, is Expressionist painter Mark Rothko.
