Daugavpils

Daugavpils (dou'gäfpēls) [key], Ger. Dünaburg, city (1992 est. pop. 129,050), SE Latvia, on the Western Dvina River. It is a rail junction and commercial center. The city's industries produce lumber, food products, electric machinery, and textiles. It was founded (1278) by the Livonian Knights and became a strategic fortress. Passing (1561) to the combined kingdom of Lithuania and Poland, it was ceded to Russia in the first partition of Poland (1772). Daugavpils was a flourishing trade center until World War I. In independent Latvia (1918–40) it was the capital of Latgale prov. Its former (1893–1920) Russian name was Dvinsk.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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