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Popular Things To Do | Other Things To Do Tips | All Tips (17) The center of the city was planned by some of the architects who designed parts of St. Petersburg, Russia.
Pilsudski held a conference in this lovely building, at the corner of Krišjāņa Valdemāra and Ģimnāzijas ielas. Leave a Comment
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If you take tram #3 in the direction of Stropi, about 15 mins. after departure from the city center you will pass a big ugly Soviet store thronged with flower-sellers, the tracks will dip, and on your left you will see a lake lined with Soviet-era apartment blocks. Just after the lake will be another bevy of babushki selling blossoms and wreaths.
This is a fascinating place to wander. Most of the cemeteries are divided by religion -- Orthodox, Old Believers, Lutherans, Catholics, and Jews. The area is hilly and would make a great location for a horror flick! You will also find the graves of members of the Latvian Legion (the white crosses near the lake), and even the headstones of Turks from the First World War.
On certain days of the year (like Orthodox Easter), Russians feast at the family plots, leaving eggs and glasses of vodka for the departed... and even, sometimes, cigarettes. The vodka is downed by waiting tramps, and the crows get the eggs... Leave a Comment Address: 18. novembra iela
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The Daugavpils Fortress (cietoksnis in Latvian, krepost' in Russian) is the largest surviving example of military architecture in eastern Europe, and the only such structure to stand almost unchanged.
Begun before the Napoleonic wars, its beginnings were laid waste by General Ricardo. What's left of what you see today was built afterwards, in the early 19th C. It's _huge_, with something of a separate city within, and it was state-of-the-art when constructed, with a complex system of moats, ramparts and bastions, the current Griva prison across the river being part of the fortifications.
I don't want to overrate it, though -- the place is pretty dreary, especially because the inner fortress is becoming a kind of ghetto (after the departure of the Soviet army, there was many a vacancy in the city, and those persons incapable of paying rent were offered apartments there by the city council; as a local member of Latvia's parliament put it, "this is not a ghetto -- many schoolteachers live there" [an accidental comment on teachers' salaries!]).
There are some wonderful parts to the complex (which actually includes the levee along which you enter Daugavpils if driving from Riga). At the entrance to the Fortress -- before you go through its portals -- head through the grass along the makeshift paths and explore the bastions. With the cattail-choked moats and weedy ramparts, the place can remind of a romantic folly. A good place for a lovers' picnic! What's cool is that it's falling apart and not really developed for tourists (so beware of falling bricks!). Unfortunately, this decaying beauty will be short-lived (the place reminds me of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, which was _meant_ to decay but preserved by public demand). There is, however, hope -- the current Prime Minister supports plans to restore and develop the Fortress for multiple use.
Update -- the new Rothko Arts Center is currently being developed in the Fortress. Leave a Comment Address: The Levee (Dambis)Directions: Take tram #3 from the city center to the end of the line and follow the people, most of whom live within. Once through the portal, bear left and pay a pittance for entry.
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In Daugavpils there are actually just three things worth to see.
1. The castel, which was already closed this day, when we arrived.
2. A couple of churches in the east centre (east of the railroad). The Lutheran Church, the Saints Boris Church, the Virgin Mary Church and the Old Believers Church. They are all close together, so you don't have to walk so far.
3. The railway station. A good point to escape from Daugavpils. Leave a Comment
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The oldest public park in the city (1882), on 3 ha, contains a tomb for Soviet soldiers who fell when Daugavpils was captured from the Nazis in 1944. Leave a Comment Address: At the foot of Rīgas iela.Directions: The park begins at Unity Square (where the Hotel Latgola, the only tall, modern building in the city is)
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Melety Kallistratov was the most prominent Russian politician in Latvia between the wars -- the building now houses the Center for Russian Culture. He was murdered by the Soviets in the courtyard of the "White Swan" in June 1941. Leave a Comment Address: Nometņu iela 21Directions: In the Gayok.
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The district between 18. novembra iela and the river is called Gajoks (the name may be derived from a Slavic word for woods). It was joined to Daugavpils in 1866, and in 1889 a pumping station was completed that provided water for the steam that powered the growing number of factories and 106 residential buildings. The area is a mixture of old, poor structures (the district is a prime victim in the case of a strong spring flood), old industry, almost rural patches, and the houses of wealthy industrialists and merchants. It has an atmosphere all its own. Leave a Comment Directions: From the Center, cross 18. Novembra iela.
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on October 5, 2005
on August 14, 2003
