Balvi () is a town in Balvi Municipality in the

Latgale Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While m ...

region of

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. It was the administrative seat of the region (Latvian: ''rajons'') of the same name since 1949; prior to the occupation of Latvia it was part of the

Abrene district Abrene may refer to: *Abrene, the name which the town Pytalovo in Pskov Oblast, Russia bore in 1938–1945 when it was a part of Latvia * Abrene County, a historical district in Latvia *Abrene, general Latvian name for the territory of Pytalovsky Di ...

. The name derives from the stream Bolupīte and the adjacent lake. The first mention of Balvi was in 1224. A small wooden church and manor were constructed on the estate of a Polish noblewoman Konstancija Hilsena at the site ca. 1765. When Latgale came under Russian rule in 1772, the estate was granted to the by Catherine II. In 1806 it passed to the Horozhinsky family and in 1876 the estate was purchased by the Baltic German Transehe-Roseneck family. The village was separated from the estate in 1915, and Balvi received town rights in 1928. Most of the town's Jews (around 21% of the population) perished in the Stahlecker phase of the Holocaust in August 1941. The retreating Germans set fire to Balvi in July 1944, and the town was rebuilt according to Soviet plans from 1945. Balvi was a center of the

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution; lv, dziesmotā revolūcija; lt, dainuojanti revoliucija) was a series of events that led to the restoration of independence of the Baltic states, Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the Soviet Union a ...

and is vital to Latgalian culture today. The town library in particular is the focus of many cultural events.

Demographics of Balvi

References

{{Authority control Towns in Latvia 1928 establishments in Latvia Populated places established in 1928 Holocaust locations in Latvia Balvi Municipality Lyutsinsky Uyezd Latgale