Valka (; german: Walk) is a town and municipality in northern

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, on the border with

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

along both banks of the river Pedele. Valka and the Estonian town Valga are twins, separated by the Estonian/Latvian border but using the slogan "One Town, Two Countries". The border dividing the

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

n town of

Walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

was marked out in 1920 by an international jury headed by British Colonel Stephen George Tallents. With the expansion of the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

and abolition of the Estonian/Latvian border in 2007, it was announced that common public bus transport would be established between Valka and Valga. Also, all border crossing-points were removed and roads and fences opened. In 2016 it was announced that due to better welfare and higher salaries in Estonia, many Valka inhabitants have registered themselves as inhabitants of Valga.

History

The town of

(in German) was first mentioned in 1286 and from 1419 was the seat of the

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...

of the Livonian Confederation. City rights were granted by the Polish-Lithuanian king

Stefan Batory Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

in 1584. However, the town gained its importance only at the end of the 19th century when the

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in ...

teacher's seminary was operating here, and the important railway junction was developed. Furthermore, the first narrow-gauge railway line in the territory of modern

was stretched from Valka to Estonian city of

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...

. On 15 November 1917 the decision of the

Latvian Provisional National Council Latvian Provisional National Council (, LPNP) was a political organization established on November 29, 1917 (November 16 in the Julian calendar) in Valka, Governorate of Livonia by the Latvian Refugee Support Central Committee, Latvian political p ...

to proclaim the independent Republic of Latvia was made in Valka. The red-white-red

flag of Latvia The national flag of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas karogs) was used by independent Latvia from 1918 until the country was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Its use was suppressed during Soviet rule. On 27 February 1990, shortly before the country ...

was raised here for the first time. The town was a subject of a dispute between the newly born Latvian and Estonian states; on 1 July 1920 the town was divided between the two states as a compromise.

Education

There is one primary school and a gymnasium in Valka. The Institute of Latvia-Estonia provides further education.

Notable people

Jānis Cimze Jānis Cimze (3 July/21 June 1814 — 22 October/10 October 1881) was a Latvian pedagogue, collector and harmoniser of folk songs, organist, founder of Latvian choral music and initiator of professional Latvian music. He is buried at the Luga� ...

(1814–1881), pedagogue, founder of Vidzeme teacher's seminary - first higher education institution in Latvia's territory *

Aigars Fadejevs Aigars Fadejevs (born December 27, 1975) is a former Latvian Athletics (sport), athlete, competing in 20 km, 50 km walk and marathon running, and a rehabilitologist for sprinters. Fadejevs competed in 1996 Summer Olympics, finishing 6th in ...

(born 1975), Olympic race-walker, winner of silver medal at Olympic Games of 2000 in Sydney *

Vents Armands Krauklis Vents Armands Krauklis (born 3 February 1964 in Valka, Latvian SSR) is a Latvian politician and musician as a member of the famous melodic music band Bumerangs. He was a Deputy of the Saeima and a member of the People's Party. Currently (as of 2 ...

(born 1964), musician, politician, former mayor of Valka city (2001–2006), member of

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the po ...

(2006-2010), current mayor of

Valka municipality Valka Municipality ( lv, Valkas novads; et, Valka piirkond) is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Valka town, Ērģeme Parish, Kārķi Parish, Valka Parish, Vijciems Parish and Zvārtava Parish ...

Roberts Ķīlis Roberts Ķīlis (14 March 1968 – 18 March 2022) was a Latvian politician and social anthropologist who served as Minister for Education and Science of Latvia. Biography Ķīlis received a bachelor's degree from the University of Latvia (1991) ...

(born 1968), social anthropologist, former Minister of Education and Science (2011-2013) *

Pavel Loskutov Pavel Loskutov (born 2 December 1969 in Valka, Latvia) is a former Estonian long-distance runner who specialized in marathon races. He has competed in the Olympic marathon race four times consecutively, from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics to the 2 ...

(born 1969), Estonian long-distance runner *

Gatis Smukulis Gatis Smukulis (born 15 April 1987) is a Latvian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2018 for the , , , and teams. Smukulis won the Latvian National Road Race Championships in 2016, and won six co ...

(born 1987), road bicycle racer *

Andris Vilks Andris Vilks (born 15 June 1963) is a Latvian politician, member of the Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, L ...

(born 1963), former Minister of Finance (2009-2014) * Arturs Neikšāns (born 1983), Latvian chess player, commentator, and coach, multiple-time Latvian champion.

Twin towns — sister cities

Valka is twinned with: * Braslaw, Belarus *

Çamlıyayla Çamlıyayla is a town and district of Mersin Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The district has a population of 10,558 of which 3335 lives in the town of Çamlıyayl Çamlıyayla is a small district high in the Taurus Mountains. I ...

, Turkey *

I'billin I'billin ( ar, إعبلين, he, אִעְבְּלִין) is a local council in the Northern District of Israel, near Shefa-'Amr. 'Ibillin was granted municipal status in 1960. The municipality's area is 18,000 dunams. In its population was ...

, Israel *

Kutaisi Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...

, Georgia *

Marijampolė Marijampolė (; also known by several other names) is a cultural and industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Mar ...

, Lithuania *

Novoye Devyatkino Novoye Devyatkino (russian: Новое Девяткино) is a village in Vsevolozhsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern A ...

, Russia * Valga, Estonia * Valga, Spain

Gallery

File:Valka, Semināra iela (1).JPG, ''Semināra iela'' File:Valka, Rīgas iela (3).JPG, ''Rīgas iela'' (Riga Street) at the Estonian border. File:Valka, Ausekļa iela (4).JPG, Apartment building from the Soviet era. File:Valka, Pedele (2).JPG, Pedele River in Valka. File:Valkas pamatskola.JPG, Valka Primary school

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in Latvia Divided cities Estonia–Latvia border crossings 1584 establishments in Europe Kreis Walk Valka Municipality