Rēzekne Municipality () is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in
Latgale
Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...
,
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
. The municipality was formed in 2009 by
merging Audriņi parish
Audriņi (also Audreņi, ) is a village and the center of Audriņi Parish, Rēzekne Municipality of the Latgale region of eastern Latvia, 245 km east of Riga. It is situated on the banks of the Liužonka River along route P36.
The parish c ...
,
Bērzgale parish,
Čornaja parish,
Dricāni parish,
Feimaņi parish,
Gaigalava parish,
Griškāni parish,
Ilzeskalns parish,
Kantinieki parish,
Kaunata parish,
Lendži parish,
Lūznava parish,
Mākoņkalns parish,
Malta parish,
Nagļi parish,
Nautrēni parish,
Ozolaine parish,
Ozolmuiža parish,
Puša parish,
Rikava parish,
Sakstagals parish,
Silmala parish,
Stoļerova parish,
Strūžāni parish and
Vērēmi parish, town
Viļāni. The population in 2020 was 24,127.
2021 reform
Within the 2021 Latvian administrative reform it was initially planned to merge
Varakļāni Municipality into Rēzekne Municipality. After protests from locals, parts of which wanted to preserve the status quo or preferred joining
Madona Municipality, the municipal council submitted a case to the
Constitutional Court of Latvia in June 2020. On 28 May 2021 the court declared the planned merge is unconstitutional. However, on June 31 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 proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the p ...
voted to proceed with the merge, which prompted the involvement of the President of Latvia
Egils Levits to avoid triggering a constitutional crisis. Ultimately, a decision was made to postpone the decision on the future of the Varakļāni and Rēzekne municipalities until 2025. Due to this, the
2021 Latvian local elections for the new municipalities were also held in Varakļāni.
Twin towns — sister cities
Rēzekne Municipality is
twinned with:
*
Aust-Agder, Norway
*
Biržai
Biržai (, also known by several alternative names) is a city in northern Lithuania. Famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle manor, the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries.
Name
The exact origin of th ...
, Lithuania
*
Edineț
Edineț () is a municipality in northern Moldova. It is the administrative center of the Edineț District, eponymous district. The town is located 201 km north of the national capital, Chișinău. It is located at . The town administers two ...
, Moldova
*
Gölbaşı, Turkey
*
Kupiškis, Lithuania
*
Pastavy, Belarus
*
Polotsk
Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...
, Belarus
*
Zgierz, Poland
References
Municipalities of Latvia
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