Dvinsk

Dvinsk is the historical name for the city now known as Daugavpils, in southeastern Latvia. Located in the Latgale region on the Daugava river near Latvia’s eastern border, it has long functioned as a strategic transport and military crossroads.

The settlement originated as a fortress town, founded in 1275 by the Livonian Order and known as Dinaburg (or Dinaborg). Over the following centuries it developed as a regional center under the Livonian Confederation and later under Polish-L Lithuanian and Russian rule. The Dinaburg Fortress, constructed by the Russian Empire in the early 19th century, anchored the town’s role as a major garrison and trading hub.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries the city was referred to in Russian as Dvinsk, a name derived from its location on the Dvina (the Daugava) river. After Latvia gained independence in 1918–1920, the city adopted the Latvian name Daugavpils.

During World War II it was occupied by Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944 and suffered war-related devastation and persecution, including the impact on its Jewish community. After the war it became part of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union, and since 1991 it has been part of independent Latvia.

Today Daugavpils is a regional industrial and transport center, with railway connections linking Riga, Rezekne, and neighboring Lithuania. Notable landmarks include the ruins of the Dinaburg Fortress and the Mark Rothko Art Centre. The city is also known as the birthplace of the artist Mark Rothko (born Marcus Rothkowitz in 1903).