Jēkabpils (; german: Jakobstadt; pl, Jakubów) is a state

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Jēkabpils Municipality Jēkabpils Municipality ( lv, Jēkabpils novads) is a municipality in Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Ābeļi Parish, Dignāja Parish, Dunava Parish, Kalna Parish, Leimaņi Parish, Rubene Parish and Zasa Parish. Dur ...

in southeastern Latvia roughly halfway between

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

and

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...

and spanning the

Daugava River , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

. The name of the city literally translates into "Castle of Jacob". Historic Jēkabpils lies on the left bank, in

Selonia Selonia ( lv, Sēlija; lt, Sėla), also known as Augšzeme (the "Highland"), is one of the Historical Latvian Lands encompassing the eastern part of the historical region of Semigallia ( lv, Zemgale) as well as a portion of northeastern Lithuania ...

while historic Krustpils (german: Kreutzburg, links=no) lies on the right bank, in

Latgale Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While m ...

. The two cities were united during Soviet rule in 1962 under the Jēkabpils name, but retain their distinct regional character. Jēkabpils was also formerly home to former Soviet

Jēkabpils Air Base Jēkabpils , also known as Krustpils, is an air base located northeast of Jēkabpils, a town in Latvia. During the 1980s it was one of 17 airfields hosting the Soviet Union's tactical reconnaissance aircraft regiments. A stone cross-castle – Cruczeborch (german: Kreutzburg) – was built in 1237 by the bishop of

Rīga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava (river), Daugava river where ...

. Archeological excavations on the nearby Asote mound indicate that this place was a busy trading centre for the

Latgalians Latgalians (, nds, Letti, Lethi, modern ; variant translations also include Latgallians, Lettigalls or Lettigallians) were an ancient Baltic tribe. They likely spoke the Latvian language, which probably became the ''lingua franca'' in present-d ...

, one of the Latvian tribes, and had been inhabited since 1000 BC. An adjoining settlement already existed when

Krustpils Castle Krustpils Castle (German: ''Kreutzburg'', Polish: ''Krzyżbork'') is a castle in Jēkabpils, Latvia. It is one of the best preserved medieval castles in Latvia. During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), Turkish prisoners of war were held here ...

was first built; it grew up around the castle as the village of Krustpils. The village was often destroyed during local wars, such as Polish-Swedish battles, but was always rebuilt afterward. During the 17th century persecuted

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...

from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

settled along the Daugava river. In 1670 this settlement, gradually growing around the Sala Inn, became known as Jēkabpils ( in German) in honor of the Duke of

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...

Jacob Kettler Jacob Kettler (german: link=no, Jakob von Kettler) (Latvian: Hercogs Jēkabs Ketlers) (28 October 1610 – 1 January 1682) was one of the greatest Baltic German Dukes of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1642–1682). He was intelligent, sp ...

, who granted

Magdeburg rights Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within ...

to the town. A local legend about the town's origin states that the duke was hunting one day but became lost. At the Daugava River he simultaneously spotted a lynx underneath a fir tree as well as a town at the same time. This image of the lynx underneath a fir tree is the town's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

. In the period of the Duchy of Courland the residents of the town were mostly Russian Old believers,

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

and

Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Uni ...

. Duke Jacob built a small port in the town to transport goods from a nearby iron foundry. At the end of 17th century there were an anchor mint, a gun

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

, lime and

tar kiln Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bi ...

s and several other factories in Jacobstadt.
In 1704, during the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

, the town was occupied by the Russians. However, after few months a major battle, the (

Battle of Jēkabpils The Battle of Jakobstadt (, lv, Kauja pie Jēkabpils, , pl, Krzyżbork) was a battle fought in the Great Northern War. It took place on 25 July 1704 ( O.S.) / 26 July 1704 (Swedish calendar) / 5 August 1704 ( N.S.) between a Swedish army under ...

), took place near the town. A

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

army under Adam Lewenhaupt defeated a much larger Russian force and thus stopped

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

from further invasion in the Duchy.
After the war and an epidemic of plague, the town again prospered.

Barges Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by Pusher (boat) ...

from

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

imported grain, honey, tobacco, spirits, textiles etc. At the same time land transport from

Friedrichstadt Friedrichstadt (; da, Frederiksstad) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km south of Husum. History The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Du ...

amounted to approx. 9,000 cart loads a year during second half of the 18th century. Jacobstadt was also part of the postal road from

Jelgava Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Duch ...

to Friedrichstadt and further to

Ilūkste Ilūkste (; lt, Alūksta, Ilūkšta; german: Illuxt) is a town in Augšdaugava Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia. The population in 2020 was 2,216. History Territory of modern Ilūkste was inhabited by ancient baltic tribe- Selonian ...

In 1764 the first ferry crossing to Krustpils was opened in the town. During the reign of

Peter von Biron Peter von Biron (15 February 1724 – 13 January 1800) was the last Duke of Courland and Semigallia, from 1769 to 1795. Life and reign Peter was born in Jelgava (german: Mitau) as the oldest son of Ernst Johann von Biron, future Duke of Courl ...

a small community of German-speaking craftsmen developed in the town besides Russians and Poles.

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, however, were prohibited from entering the town. In 1795 Jacobstadt, like the whole Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In 1826

Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (russian: link=no, Василий Яковлевич Струве, trans. ''Vasily Yakovlevich Struve''; 15 April 1793 – ) was a Baltic German astronomer and geodesist from the famous Struve family. He is bes ...

made his geodesic measurements near the town.
In 1834 the first hospital was opened in the town. During this period a theater and library were also opened and the first streets were cobbled.
In 1861 with the opening of the Riga–Daugavpils railway through Krustpils the role of the Daugava and barges as a main means of transport decreased. However the river was still used for

timber rafting Timber rafting is a method of transporting felled tree trunks by tying them together to make rafts, which are then drifted or pulled downriver, or across a lake or other body of water. It is arguably, after log driving, the second cheapest mean ...

At the turn of the 20th century there were a bank, an insurance company, a match factory, a

steam mill A steam mill is a type of grinding mill using a stationary steam engine to power its mechanism. * And did those feet in ancient time, Albion Flour Mills, first steam mill in London from around 1790 * Aurora Steam Grist Mill, a historic grist ...

, a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

typography Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), and ...

and several other enterprises. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

heavy battles were fought around the town and some 280 buildings in the town were destroyed or damaged. In 1919 Jēkabpils became the administrative centre of the newly established Jaunjelgava district. In 1932 a

sugar refinery A sugar refinery is a refinery which processes raw sugar from cane or beets into white refined sugar. Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, which is sugar that still contains molasses, giving it more colour (and impurities) than the white ...

was built in the town. In 1936 a bridge was built over the Daugava. In this way Jēkabpils and Krustpils were united for the first time. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the bridge was blown up. A new bridge was constructed only in 1962. Jēkabpils and Krustpils were merged in 1962 under the name Jēkabpils. During the

Soviet period The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

the united city was home to several big factories. Among them were the sewing enterprise ''Asote'', the

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

splinter mine ''Dolomīts'', a

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

construction factory, a dairy processing plant and several other enterprises. After the restoration of Latvian independence in 1991 many factories went bankrupt or production was drastically reduced. From 2009 to 2021, the city, while being a separate first-level municipality (republican city, ''republikas pilsēta''), was also the extraterritorial center of

. Since 2021, it retains state city status, but does not have a separate first-level local government.

Geography

The population of Jēkabpils town is 29,100. The two historical parts of Jēkabpils — Krustpils and historic Jēkabpils — are connected by the bridge across the

Demographics

As of 1 January 2017, the city had a population of 23,750.

Sights

Jēkabpils

In the older parts of the city, some buildings have been preserved. The castle of Krustpils houses the History Museum of Jēkabpils and Krustpils.

Jēkabpils District

One of the

Struve Geodetic Arc The Struve Geodetic Arc is a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over , which yielded the first accurate measurement of a meridian arc. The chain was established ...

original station points is located in ''Strūves park''. In Tadenava, not far from Jēkabpils itself, there is a memorial museum to the great Latvian poet

Rainis Rainis was the pseudonym of Jānis Pliekšāns (September 11, 1865 – September 12, 1929), a Latvian poet, playwright, translator, and politician. Rainis' works include the classic plays ''Uguns un nakts'' (''Fire and Night'', 1905) and ''Ind ...

. Nearby are also the castle of Justine and Dignāja. The highest point of

— ''Ormaņkalns'' is in the vicinity of Klauce. Between

Nereta Nereta ( lt, Neretos; german: Nerft) is a village in Aizkraukle Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia. Neretaat GeoNames updated 27/07/2014 The village is located 4 km from the border with Lithuania, on the Dienvidsusēja rive ...

and

Aknīste Aknīste (; lt, Aknysta; pl, Oknista) is a town in Jēkabpils Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia, near the Lithuanian border. The town is located near the river Dienvidsusēja. Prior to the 2009 administrative reforms it was part ...

there is a museum "Riekstiņi" commemorating the famous Latvian writer Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš.

Notable people

Reinis Nitišs Reinis Nitišs (born 16 December 1995) is a rallycross driver from Jēkabpils, Latvia. He is the winner of the Super1600 division in the European Rallycross Championship in 2013 and is the youngest event winner in FIA World Rallycross Championshi ...

, World Rallycross driver

Twin towns – sister cities

Jēkabpils is twinned with: *

Czerwionka-Leszczyny Czerwionka-Leszczyny (german: Czerwionka-Leschczin) is a town in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the only town in Rybnik county (which is separate from Rybnik city) and the seat of the larger Czerwionka-Leszczyny municipality whi ...

, Poland *

Lida Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuani ...

, Belarus *

Maardu Maardu (german: Maart) is a town and a municipality in Harju County, Estonia. It is part of Tallinn metropolitan area. The town covers an area of 22.76 km² and has a population of 16,170 (as of 1 January 2021). The Port of Muuga, the l ...

, Estonia *

Melle Melle may refer to: People * Basil Melle (1891–1966), South African cricketer * Gil Mellé (1931–2004), American artist, jazz musician and film composer * John van Melle (1887–1953), Dutch-born South African author * Melle Mel (born 19 ...

, Germany *

Myrhorod Myrhorod ( uk, Ми́ргород, ) is a city in the Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Myrhorod Raion (district), the city itself is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast s ...

, Ukraine * Qaraçuxur, Azerbaijan *

Rokiškis Rokiškis () is a city in northeastern Lithuania with a population of about 14,400. History The legend of the founding of Rokiškis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares ( Lit. "kiškis"). However, cities ending in "- ...

, Lithuania * Sokołów Podlaski, Poland

Gallery

Jekabpils city council.JPG, Jēkabpils city council Old believers church Jekabpils.JPG, Old believers church in Jēkabpils Православная церковь (2).jpg, Jēkaba street and Holy Spirit Monastery elements Oldtown square Jekabpils.JPG, Jēkabpils central square Krustpils train station.(1)..JPG, Krustpils railway station in Jēkabpils Jēkabpils dam.jpg, Pļaviņu iela (street) and Daugava River levee

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jekabplis Cities in Latvia Republican cities of Latvia Jēkabpils Municipality