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Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see
other names Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...
) is a state city in northwestern
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 ...
in the historical
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. ...
region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the
Venta River The Venta (Latvian pronunciation , Lithuanian , , , Livonian ''Vǟnta joug'') is a river in north-western Lithuania and western Latvia. Its source is near Kuršėnai in the Lithuanian Šiauliai County. It flows into the Baltic Sea at Ventspil ...
and the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
, and has an
ice-free port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
. The city's name literally means "
castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
on the Venta", referring to the Livonian Order's castle built alongside the Venta River.


Other names

Ventspils was historically known as ''Windau'' in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
. A
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
name from the time of the
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. ...
was ''Виндава (Vindava)'' or ''Виндау (Vindau)'' although ''Вентспилс (Ventspils)'' has been used since World War II. Some other names for the city include liv, Vǟnta and pl, Windawa.


History

Ventspils developed around the
Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after the ...
Ventspils Castle Ventspils Castle (german: Windau) is located in Ventspils, Latvia. It is one of the oldest and most well-preserved Livonian Order castles remaining, in that it has retained its original layout since the 13th century. Through its 700-year histor ...
, built along the
Venta River The Venta (Latvian pronunciation , Lithuanian , , , Livonian ''Vǟnta joug'') is a river in north-western Lithuania and western Latvia. Its source is near Kuršėnai in the Lithuanian Šiauliai County. It flows into the Baltic Sea at Ventspil ...
. It was chartered in 1314 and became an important mercantile city of the
Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...
. As part of the
Duchy of Courland The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...
, Ventspils blossomed as a shipbuilding centre. 44 warships and 79 trading ships were built in the town, and it was from Ventspils that the Duke's fleet set out to
colonize Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
and
Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...
. Metal, amber, and wood-working shops also became important to the city's development. During the Polish-Swedish War and 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 ...
, Ventspils was destroyed, and in 1711 a plague wiped out most of the remaining inhabitants. After the
Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polish ...
in 1795 Ventspils fell under the control of
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. ...
. It was not until about 1850 that shipbuilding and trade became important again. The port was modernized in the 1890s and connected to Moscow by rail. It became one of Imperial Russia's most profitable ports, by 1913 turning a yearly profit of 130 million rubles. The population soared as well, growing from 7,000 in 1897, to 29,000 in 1913. During the German occupation from 1915 to 1919, the population decreased almost by half, though some returned home during the First Republic of Latvia (1918–1940). In 1939, the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
established a base in Ventspils. Under Soviet rule, an oil pipeline was built to Ventspils, and became the USSR's leading port in crude oil export. north of Ventspils is the ex-Soviet
radioastronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The first detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation coming f ...
installation VIRAC (''Ventspils Starptautiskais radioastronomijas centrs'' or ''Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre''). The existence of the ''Centrs'' was unknown to most Latvians until 1994. After independence, the Latvian government began a city-beautification process to make the city more attractive to tourists. In 2004, Ventspils was a host city for a multi-national (United States, United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden, Russia, Latvia, Denmark, Finland, Norway) naval exercise called Baltic Operations XXXIII (BALTOPS). The force was led by the
guided missile cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
USS ''Anzio and the destroyer . The US vessels were the first American warships to visit the port of Ventspils since Latvian independence was declared.


Climate

Ventspils is in the transition zone between an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
and a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(''Cfb'' and ''Dfb'' in the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
) with winters just below freezing point and warm summers. Ventspils holds the national record for the highest temperature ever recorded in Latvia with on 4 August 2014.LVGMC Twitter account
. Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre. Retrieved 4 August 2014.


Demography

At the beginning of 2017, Ventspils had an official population of 39,447 (54.3% of them were women compared with 45.7% men). 63% of Ventspils
population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
(24,762 people) are 15–62 years old, 14.3% (5,647 people) are 0–14 years old, and 22.6% (8,877 people) are 62 years and over. Population of Ventspils according to
ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
:


Education

Institutions of higher education and science include: * Ventspils University College *
Riga Technical University Riga Technical University (RTU) ( lv, Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte) is the oldest technical university in the Baltic countries established on October 14, 1862. It is located in Riga, Latvia and was previously known as 'Riga Polytechnical Instit ...
, Ventspils branch * Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy, Ventspils branch * College of Law, Ventspils branch


Economy

Ventspils is situated at the mouth of the
Venta River The Venta (Latvian pronunciation , Lithuanian , , , Livonian ''Vǟnta joug'') is a river in north-western Lithuania and western Latvia. Its source is near Kuršėnai in the Lithuanian Šiauliai County. It flows into the Baltic Sea at Ventspil ...
, where it empties into the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
, and is an important
ice-free port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
. Large amounts of
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
and other mineral resources 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 ...
are loaded aboard ships at Ventspils. Ventspils Airport, one of the three international airports in Latvia, is located in the city. Ventspils High Technology Park provides infrastructure and services to IT and electronics companies.


Culture

Every winter Ventspils hosts the awarding ceremony of the Latvian Radio broadcast ''Musical Bank'' and the televised national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. On the second weekend of July the ''Sea Festival'' takes place, and on the first weekend of August there is an annual city festival. Festivals "Ghetto games'' and ''Vakara pastaiga'' are popular. There are several institutions taking responsibility for the cultural life of Ventspils, including: * The Theatre House "Juras varti" presents professional performing arts of various genres. * The Ventspils Museum is engaged in the research and the recording of the history of Ventspils. It writes the Ventspils City Chronicle, builds up the collections of the museum and carries out scientific work. * The Ventspils Library is a municipal, cultural, educational, and information institution. * The International Writers and Translators' House is an international centre for writers and translators.


Sport

Ventspils has a well developed sports infrastructure. One of the most popular sporting facility in Ventspils is the ''Olympic Centre 'Ventspils offering a basketball hall, ice hall, track-and-field arena, and football stadiums. One can also enjoy the ''Water Adventure Park'',''Seaside Aqua-Park'', and ''Adventure Park'' that turns into a ''Skiing Hill 'Lemberga hūte'' during the winter. The city has a
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
team that has won the Latvian championship in the last several years. In the 2001/2002 season, the team took third place in the
North European Basketball League The North European Basketball League, or Northern European Basketball League (NEBL), was a short-lived regional professional basketball league. It was founded in 1998, by Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Dmitry Buriak. The league was the first commerci ...
(NEBL). Ventspils also has a
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team in
FK Ventspils FK Ventspils is a Latvian football club, based at Ventspils Olimpiskais Stadions in Ventspils city and is one of the most popular football clubs in the country. The club played in the Latvian Virsliga since 1997. It was abolished in 2020, but h ...
who compete in the
Virsliga Latvian Higher League or Virslīga is a professional football league and the top tier of association football in Latvia. Organised by the Latvian Football Federation, the Higher League is contested by 10 clubs. The full name of the league is Op ...
. In the 2006 season the team has won the Latvian championship for the first time.


Adventure Park

Ventspils has an Adventure Park (Latvian: Piedzīvojumu parks) that consists of Tube Sliding Track, Airsoft Shooting Range, Bumper boats, Trampoline Complex, Trampoline with Rubber Ribbons, Mad Rotor, Catapult, Trampoline boat, Playhouse for children, Inflatable Attractions in the summer. In the winter you can skiing, snowboarding and sledding. There is also a rodeo track (Latvian: Rodeļu trase) in construction, it will be available to use in 2023 summer. Ventspils has a
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
train; a beach and dunes and an observatory with a telescope and digital planetarium.


Old Town of Ventspils

Ventspils developed rapidly as a commercial harbour in the years of growth of Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. The most active building works took place in the vicinity of the present Market Square where a number of former storehouses from the 17th century are preserved. A dwelling house at the crossing of Tirgus and Skolas Streets is one of the oldest houses of such type in Latvia (built in 1646). Next to the Market Square, in a historical school building on Skolas street, there is the Ventspils House of the Crafts (2007). The International Writers’ and Translators’ House (2006) was opened on the premises of the former City Hall (1850), on the City-Hall Square. The building is reconstructed to accommodate creative work and everyday needs of its writers. Located next to it are the recently renovated Ventspils Central Library (2006) and Evangelic-Lutheran Church of Nicholas (1835). The City-Hall Square, the Market Square and the Ostas Street Promenade are popular walking places.


Cow sculptures

CowParade CowParade is an international public art exhibit that has featured in major world cities. Fiberglass sculptures of cows are decorated by local artists, and distributed over the city centre, in public places such as train stations, important avenu ...
in Ventspils took place in 2002, and now several cow sculptures reside in the city: * ‘Latvijas melnā’ (Latvian Black Cow) dwells on the Promenade of Ostas iela; * ‘Pretim gaismai’ (Towards the Light) that usually climbs the lamp post on Pils iela next to ‘Latvenergo’ JSC; * ‘Ms. Moo-Dunk’ the basketball cow resides near the Basketball Hall of the Olympic Centre ‘Ventspils’; * ‘Dzīve ir skaista’ (Life is Beautiful) is situated at the Children's Park ‘Bērnu pilsētiņa’ (Children's Town); * ‘Jūras govs’ (Cow of the Sea) dwells next to the Livonian Order Castle facing the River Venta; * ‘Nafta’ (Oil) lives next to the Children's Home ‘Selga’; * ‘Londonas govs’ (London Cow) welcomes the residents of the camping site ‘Piejūras kempings’. There are also three considerably larger cows: * ‘Ceļojošā govs’ (Travelling Cow) is shaped like a huge suitcase and awaits the city guests on the Promenade of Ostas iela to take some pictures; * ‘Govs-Matrozis’ (The Sailor Cow) is a giant blue-coloured cow dressed as a seafarer and situated at the Southern Pier of Ventspils; * ‘Šūpojošā govs’ (Cow on the Swings) is a large, but cute and girly cow sitting on the swings not far from the excursion boat ‘Hercogs Jēkabs’.


Notable people

*
Fred Rebell Fred Rebell (born Pauls Sproģis;Agrīnie latviešu iebraucēji Austrālijā
(1886–1968) – single-handed sailor *
Dorothy Dworkin Dorothy Dworkin (''née'' Dorothy Goldstick; 1889 – August 13, 1976) was a Jewish Canadian nurse, businesswoman and philanthropist. In 2009, she was made a Person of National Historic Significance. She was involved in planning Toronto’s first J ...
(1889-1976) – nurse, businesswoman, and philanthropist. *
Fricis Kaņeps Fricis Kaņeps (10 August 1916, in Ventspils – 30 November 1981, in Staicele) was a Latvian footballer. He was one of the most powerful Latvian forwards of the 1930s who didn't have a very good technique but compensated it mostly by his physica ...
(1916–1981) – footballer *
Francis Rudolph Francis Rudolph ( lv, Rūdolfs Peders; 1921−2005) was an English painter of Latvian origin. Life in Europe Rūdolfs Peders was born in 1921 in Ventspils, Latvia. In 1944, during the Nazi occupation of Latvia, he was expelled from Art Sch ...
(1921–2005) – painter *
Imant Raminsh Imant Karlis Raminsh ( Latvian: Imants Kārlis Ramiņš, born 18 September 1943) is a Canadian composer of Latvian descent, best known for his choral compositions. He resides in Coldstream, British Columbia. Early life and education Born in ...
(1943) – composer *
Dzintars Ābiķis Dzintars Ābiķis (born 3 June 1952 in Ventspils) is a Latvian politician and a Deputy of the 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 ...
(1952) – politician *
Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis (born 19 February 1962, in Ventspils) is a Latvian politician. He is a member of the centre-right Unity party. Kristovskis served in several previous Latvian governments as the Minister for the Interior from 3 August 19 ...
(1962) – politician *
Sandis Prūsis Sandis Prūsis (born 24 October 1965, in Ventspils) is a Latvian bobsleigh coach and former bobsledder. Starting his career in the 1980s, he competed professionally from 1990 to 2003. Competing in three Winter Olympics, he earned his ...
(1965) – bobsleigh pilot *
Gundars Vētra Gundars Vētra (born May 22, 1967) is a Latvian former professional basketball player and a current coach. He most recently served as a head coach of Spartak St. Petersburg. Standing at , he played at the shooting guard and small forward positi ...
(1967) – basketball star *
Oleg Belozyorov Oleg Valentinovich Belozyorov (Russian: Олег Валентинович Белозёров; born on 26 September 1969), is a Latvian-born Russian politician and manager. He is serving as president of Russian Railways since August 20, 2015. He ...
(1969) - Russian politician and manager; serving as president of
Russian Railways Russian Railways (russian: link=no, ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД»), OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD)) is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both manag ...
since August 20, 2015. *
Ēriks Rags Ēriks Rags (born 1 June 1975) is a Latvian javelin thrower. His personal best throw is 86.47 metres, achieved in July 2001 in London. He has competed at three Summer Olympics between 2000 and 2008. He was born in Ventspils Ventspils (; ger ...
(1975) – javelin thrower *
Gatis Gūts Gatis Gūts (born 15 April 1976, Ventspils) is a former Latvian bobsleigh pilot who had competed since 1994. Currently he is one of the coaches of Latvian bobsleigh team. His two last seasons have seen him twice in the top ten in the World Cup, bo ...
(1976) – bobsleigh pilot * Ingus Janevics (1986) – speedwalker *
Rebeka Koha Rebeka Salsabil Ibrahim (born Rebeka Koha; 19 May 1998) is a Latvian-born Qatari Olympic weightlifting, weightlifter, two time Junior World Champion and two time European Champion competing in the 58 kg division until 2018 and 59 kg star ...
(1998) – Olympic weightlifter


Twin towns – sister cities

Ventspils is twinned with: *
Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...
, France *
Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
, China *
Novopolotsk Novopolotsk ( be, Наваполацк (Cyrillic), Navapołack (Łacinka), translit=Navapolatsk, ; russian: Новополоцк, translit=Novopolotsk, ) is a city in Vitebsk Oblast, Belarus, with a population (2008 estimate) of 107,458. Founded ...
, Belarus *
Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Distr ...
, Belarus *
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...
, Germany *
Västervik Västervik is a city status in Sweden, city and the seat of Västervik Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden, with 36,747 inhabitants in 2021. Västervik is one of three coastal towns with a notable population size in the province of Småland. Cl ...
, Sweden


Significant depictions in popular culture

* Windau (Ventspils) is one of the starting towns of the
State of the Teutonic Order The State of the Teutonic Order (german: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, ; la, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; lt, Vokiečių ordino valstybė; pl, Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called () or (), was a medieval Crusader state, located in Centr ...
in the turn-based strategy game Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms. * Windau can be established in trading simulation game Patrician III as an Alderman Task


See also

*
Ventspils Castle Ventspils Castle (german: Windau) is located in Ventspils, Latvia. It is one of the oldest and most well-preserved Livonian Order castles remaining, in that it has retained its original layout since the 13th century. Through its 700-year histor ...
*
Ports of the Baltic Sea There are over 200 ports in the Baltic Sea (or 190, when only those ports that handle a minimum of 50,000 tonnes of cargo annually and where at least part of this cargo is international are taken into account). In 2008, the total amount of cargo ...
*
List of cities in Latvia There are 7 cities ( lv, Republikas pilsētas, "republican cities") and 81 towns ( lv, Novada pilsētas, "municipality towns") in Latvia. By Latvian law, towns are settlements that are centers of culture and commerce with a well-developed architec ...


References


External links


City's Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Latvia Republican cities of Latvia Port cities in Latvia Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea Populated coastal places in Latvia Windau County