Latvia’s secret city

May 22, 2008
By Monika Hanley

DAUGAVPILS - Nestled neatly at the crossroads between Russia, Belarus and Lithuania, lies Daugavpils, the second largest – but rarely visited – city in Latvia. It is described by most Latvians today as a depressing, gray, still Soviet wasteland not worth visiting. To me this sounded like a challenge and off I went on a Saturday morning to see what all the fuss or lack thereof, was about.

I hopped on the early train and sat for three and a half hours in a freezing car, looking over a map of the city and what there was to see. Upon arrival, the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the main street lined with oak trees, cafes and small boutiques which turned out to be great places for antiques.
The top three things to see in Daugavpils are the 18th century fortress, the hill of churches (Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran all within a block of each other, located oddly enough near a prison) and the Daugavpils Museum. The museum is especially interesting as it contains artifacts from pre-historical times, through a plethora of wartime periods, right up until present times. On the second floor is an art museum containing 41 copies of paintings by Mark Rothko, an artist who was born and raised in Daugavpils before moving to America.
The fortress itself is a mixture of awe inspiring and depressing, despite being labeled a UNESCO heritage site. It is completely abandoned. After being used for a storage site after the wars were over and the military left, it was nearly completely abandoned save for some blocks being turned into low-income housing. So in essence, you pay 25 santims to walk through someones neighborhood, albeit with barbed wire surrounding it. 

Daugavpilians seem to be all about the outdoors and walking as well, and the huge city park was full of happy people eating ice cream, pushing strollers and simply people-watching. If you don’t feel like visiting museums or the fortress it’s worth a trip just to wander around and see the still-standing Soviet memorials covered in red carnations, sample local cuisines – most of which are cafeteria – and just witness the differences in cultures.

Situated directly on the Daugava River, the city has many picturesque picnic areas to enjoy the widely available organic fruits, vegetables and fresh bread. 
Daugavpils has been a major city since 1275 (then called Dinaburg) and the mammoth fortress and churches still stand from various periods in Daugavpilian history. Unlike Riga, most of the museums aren’t free in Daugavpils, but not to worry, the entrance fee is usually around 25 santims or 30 euro cents.

It was a far cry from the gray, bloc house covered Soviet city I had pictured. It seemed like an entirely different country from Latvia though, predominantly inhabited by Russians and Poles and full of large indoor markets where honey sellers will practically force-feed you honey until you buy some. Right next to them, pickle peddlers will gladly give you a free pickle just for being a foreigner. It is definitely worth a day trip to get out of Riga and see the other side of Latvia.

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