DAUGAVPILS
Latvia
Winter 2027/2028
Between East and West
Daugavpils (Даугаўпілс, Двинск, Daugpilis, Даугавпилс) is the seventh station of the project and the second-largest city in Latvia. Due to its geographical location in the southeast of the country—close to the borders with Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia—Daugavpils has historically been a place shaped by diverse cultural and political influences, situated at the crossroads between East and West.
Over the centuries, the city has belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russian Empire, and later the Soviet Union. Particularly formative were the periods of Russian imperial rule from 1772 to 1917 and the Soviet era from 1940 to 1991, both of which left a lasting imprint on the city's cultural and social landscape. Following the restoration of Latvian independence in 1991, Daugavpils became part of the newly sovereign Latvian state, which moved towards closer political and economic integration with the European Union. Since Latvia’s accession to the EU in 2004, the city has found itself on the eastern external border of the Union—a role that brings both geopolitical challenges and opportunities.
Daugavpils is an important regional centre for education, industry, and culture. The city is home to several universities, theatres, galleries, and the internationally recognised Mark Rothko Art Centre, named after the artist who was born in Daugavpils. The city’s architectural landscape ranges from tsarist-era military buildings to Soviet post-war structures, reflecting its complex historical legacy.
The population of Daugavpils is predominantly Russian-speaking, although Latvian, as the official state language, is also present in public life. This coexistence of languages and cultures is a defining feature of everyday life in the city, making Daugavpils a distinctive space for dialogue between different identities within Latvia and the broader European context.
