Send Gift Baskets to Rezekne, Latvia

Latgalians had a hill fort in Rēzekne. It was active between the 9th and 13th centuries and then got destroyed by Knights of the Livonian Order in the 13th century. In 1285 knights built a stone fortress on the site, which is today known as the Rēzekne castle ruins. It served as a fortification on their eastern frontier.

For centuries, Rēzekne has seen war as Russia and Lithuania attacked it from time to time. In 1582, there was the peace treaty of Jam Zapolski and Skirgaila, in which Rēzekne became a commonwealth town belonging to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Rēzekne became a town sometime in the 17th century by receiving Magdeburg rights from Poland. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was under Russian control as a result of several partitions. Rēzekne got its city rights in 1773. It had been a center of governance for first Pskov Governorate between 1772 and 1776, then Polotsk between 1776 and 1796, Belarus between 1796 and 1802, and finally Vitebsk Governorate.

With two railway stations constructed in the 19th century, Rēzekne turned into an important city that connected Moscow and Warsaw.

In the spring of 1917, the first Latgalian Congress was held in Rezekne in which Latgale declared unity with the other regions of Latvia. Latvia’s independence has influenced its culture tremendously. Latvia won its independence in 1918 and so right away the country became culturally mixed. Following the Latvian War of Independence, the red army was driven out of Latvia and Germany’s forces were expelled as well. As a result, Latgale became an area with a lot of cultural diversity.

Rēzekne was heavily damaged by Nazi and Soviet armies during World War II. It was captured by troops of the German Army Group North on 4 July 1941 and under the administration of Reichskommissariat Ostland after 1943. Rezekne was recaptured by 2nd Belorussian Front troops on July 27th, 1944; but since Soviet forces had been bombing the city heavily throughout 1944, it suffered ⅔ destruction and only 5,000 of the pre-war population of 13,300 remained in the city.

Rēzekne was rebuilt after the war with an emphasis on industrial development. This included a dairy processor (Rēzeknes Piena Konservu kombināts), a lumber mill, and an electric-instrument maker. This trend, affecting the population of the city, was made up of many Russians during this period. By 2007 they were 48.5% of the population.