Balvi (, ,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

Bołowsk) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in the

Balvi Municipality Balvi Municipality (, ) is a municipality in northern Latgale, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 from parts of the Balvi district, by merging Balvi parish, Bērzkalne parish, Bērzpils parish, Briežuciems parish, Krišjāņi par ...

in the

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

region of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. It was the administrative seat of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of the same name since 1949; prior to the

occupation of Latvia Latvia has been occupied by military forces from other nations from time to time. Military occupations of Latvia have included: * Livonian Crusade (13th century) * Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 * Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany (1941� ...

, it was part of Abrene County. The name derives from the stream Bolupīte and the adjacent lake.

History

The first mention of Balvi dates back to 1224. A small wooden church and manor were constructed on the estate of a

noblewoman Konstancija Hilsena at the site ca. 1765. When Latgale came under

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n rule in 1772, the estate was granted to the by

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

. In 1806, it was passed to the Horozhinsky family, and in 1876, the estate was purchased by the

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

Transehe-Roseneck family. The village was separated from the estate in 1915, and Balvi received town rights in 1928, ten years after Latvia proclaimed its independence. Most of the town's

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

(around 21% of the population) perished in the Stahlecker phase of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

in August 1941. The retreating Germans set fire to Balvi in July 1944, and the town was rebuilt according to

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

plans from 1945. Balvi was a center of the

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by a ...

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

Demographics of Balvi

Notable people

Jānis Bordāns Jānis Bordāns (born 21 June 1967) is a Latvian politician and lawyer, the Deputy Prime Minister and the former Minister of Justice of the Republic of Latvia from 2019 to 2022, and previously from 2012 to 2014 . Bordāns served as Minister of J ...

(born 1967), politician, lawyer *

Inese Laizāne Inese Laizāne (15 August 1971 in Balvi, to 4 September 2024) was a Latvian actress and politician. References

1971 births People from Balvi Municipality All for Latvia! politicians National Alliance (Latvia) politicians Deputies ...

(born 1971), politician, actress *

Arvis Vilkaste Arvis Vilkaste (born 8 April 1989) is a Latvian bobsledder, brakeman who has competed since 2010. He won a gold medal in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships 2016 in Igls, Austria (with pilot Oskars Melbārdis, Daumants Dreišken ...

(born 1989), bobsledder

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Latgale 1928 establishments in Latvia Populated places established in 1928 Holocaust locations in Latvia Populated places in Balvi Municipality Abrene county