Jēkabpils, a convenient and worthwhile day trip!
Jēkabpils is a small ‘city’ (a town, by most standards), situated on the Daugava River about halfway between Riga and Daugavpils. Two hours and 5 euros by bus from Riga, it is a convenient day trip, offering a wonderful and gentle insight into life in Latvia outside the capital city. In this post, I will introduce you to some of the history of the town and some key достопримечательности (‘sites’). I will also suggest a way to stay in the town overnight for free, though with, as you will soon learn, some antecedent and perhaps atypical house rules.
Latvia has enough cities for Wikipedia to declare Jēkabpils the country’s tenth largest. Yes, you read that correctly. Tenth largest, out of ten!
History
In common with much or all of Europe, the area has been inhabited, or its resources subject to human use, since at least 1000BC. Latvian tribes such as the ‘Latgalians’ lived on the land, partly because of the Daugava River, which, some 1000km in length, connects the Baltic Sea to the ‘Ozero Verezhun’ in Tver, Russia (trace it on a map, it’s really quite remarkable), provided an effective means of transport for merchants, who used barges to move goods.
In 1237 the Krustpils Castle, which still stands, was built by Nicolaus von Nauen, the second Bishop of Riga. Riga itself (more precisely, ‘Livonia’, of which Riga was a part) had only been established as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in 1201. The castle was used by Latvian natives for trade, drawing in merchants who previously had bought and sold goods in a nearby settlement. The castle, later used as a hospital in the First World War, and a military base in the Soviet period, today is home to the Jēkabpils Museum of History and has been the subject of extensive renovations.
Jēkabpils (German: Jakobstadt) received its name twice; in 1670, when the Duke of Courland, Jacob Kettler, granted the area the status of town, and again in 1962, when Jēkabpils and Krustpils, a neighbouring town, were amalgamated (now, both collectively known as Jēkabpils). The earlier occasion followed the arrival of persecuted Old Believers from Russia, who came to form a substantial part of the town’s population. I will publish an article explaining the ‘Old Believer’ phenomenon in the weeks to follow, but these are essentially groups (yes, more than one) reactionary to the reforms introduced to Russian Orthodox Christianity by Nikon of Moscow during the seventeenth century. The changes were then and are now explained, by traditional Orthodox Christians, as a necessary correction, but are seen by some (Old Believers) as heretical and a departure from the true liturgical rites. This is an important issue, relevant to anyone who wants to understand history in this part of the world.
Shortly after, in the 1704, Jēkabpils was the site of an important battle in the Great Northern War, the Battle of Jakobstadt. The Great Northern War was a violent 21 year contest between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire for, among other things, control over the Baltics (then Livonia, Estonia, and ‘Ingria’ [the region around St Petersburg]). Though the battle was won by the Swedes, Russia would go on to win the War.
The subsequent 100 years are difficult to understand. Riga was conquered by Peter the Great in 1710, however the division between the Russian Empire (which, formally, was realised in 1721) and the Duchy of Courland ran along the Daugava River, meaning that half of Jēkabpils (then ‘Krustpils’) was under Russian control, and the other half, on the other side of the river, remained under the control of the Duke of Courland. If you want further confuse yourself, я рекомендую вам погуглить ‘Duchy of Courland and Semigallia! In 1795 Peter von Biron, the last duke, effectively sold the Duchy to Russia for a large amount of money.
Between 1795 and today, Jēkabpils has followed the historical trajectory of modern-day Latvia—becoming part of the Russian Empire, briefly gaining independence after the First World War, joining the Soviet Union, and, in 1990, becoming part of the newly independent Republic of Latvia. The town was bombed during both World Wars.
Directions from Riga
Busses and trains between Riga and Jēkabpils run frequently and take, on average, just over two hours. Both services run roughly every two hours, with some variation on weekends and holidays. You can check timetables on this website,which offers tickets for some services, however you might find that the service providers themselves (e.g., ‘Ecolines’), will offer a cheaper price on their own websites. For some services you can pay on-board, however paying ahead guarantees you a seat.
Accomodation
Given how easy it is to reach Jēkabpils from Riga, and that bus and train services run from early morning until around 9 in the evening, for most it will probably be unnecessary to find accomodation. However, if you’re keen on visiting the one nightclub in town you have the following (conventional) options for accommodation;
- ‘Hotel Luiize’, apparently the only hotel in Jēkabpils. If you really are staying for the nightclub, this option will suit you very well, since it is the nightclub. That goes someway in explaining the less than laudatory reviews;
- An airbnb, such as this one, which for a modest price offers something of a ‘Dacha experience’ in the Latvian semi-countryside. Probably best for couples, or poets.
- Some ‘apartments’ listed on booking.com, which I cannot vouch for.
But I promised you a third, non-conventional option…
For those of the Orthodox persuasion, you can in fact stay, without financial penalty, at the Orthodox Monastery (the ‘Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit’) near the town centre. That is where I am writing this article from. I will tell you in a subsequent article about life inside the monastery, but if you’re willing and eligible (you’ll need to ask the monks in advance), you can expect very quiet and comfortable accomodation, with linens, towels, and all meals provided, given that you follow the monastery rules (yes, that means no nightclub!)
Sites
Krustpils Castle
A very useful document has been made available by the Jēkabpils Council listing and explaining sites of key cultural importance, such as the Krustpils Castle mentioned earlier. Other sites include;
Town Square
A pretty and quiet 19th century square with a few food joints/cafes. Notice the bronze statute of the lynx, also. The story goes that, in 1670, the Duke of Courland, when lost on a hunting expedition, saw a lynx under a fir tree and the image of a town (Jēkabpils did not yet ‘exist’). This tale also explains the city’s beautiful coat of arms.
The Town Square by Laima Gūtmane
Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit
An Orthodox Church built in the 19th century in the Byzantine style. The church houses beautiful and old icons from Latvia, the former Russian Empire, and elsewhere, and is adjacent to Latvia’s only continuing Orthodox Monastery.
By Jelena Maksimova – https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73036823
Open air Exhibition of Jēkabpils History Museum
An exhibition of buildings from the 19th century, including a windmill, bathhouse, smithy, and various tools used by farmers and merchants from that period. Like many places, Jēkabpils was, or at least we can imagine it was, more picturesque before the various disturbances brought about by the 20th century. The image below, of ‘Lielā Street’ from 1912, suggests as much…
Jēkabpils Old Believer’s Church and at least five other old churches
Jēkabpils, for its size, has a remarkable diversity of religious buildings. These include various protestant denominations, Catholic Churches, and an Old Believer’s Church. These buildings are testament to the town’s long and varied history.
Various dwelling houses
Houses such as that of the celebrated Skulmes family (19th and 20th century). These are wooden, and some feature internal museums. Like the churches, they offer a wonderful insight into Latvia’s history.
Surrounding forest
Like much of the rest of Latvia, Jēkabpils is complemented by expansive surrounding forest, including a nearby lake (‘Radžu ūdenskrātuve’) with a huge half-submerged stone (on google maps called ‘Radzu akmens’). In summer it is possible to swim here (at ‘Radžu pludmale’).
Final thoughts
Admittedly, I did not (well, not yet) experience the nightclub or poorly rated hotel, or swim in the lake with the large stone, but what I have seen so far of Jēkabpils (mainly from within the monastery walls) has been gentle and worthwhile. Towns and smaller towns than this are littered across Latvia, and collectively make up a not insignificant portion of the country’s population. But that population is, for better of for worse, declining. In 1991 over 31,000 people lived in Jēkabpils. The census in 2021 recorded 23,138. Today, it’s about 21,000. That follows the general decline in Baltic populations since the dissolution of the USSR, however Latvia– and especially the Latvian countryside- has been particularly affected by unfavourable economic conditions. The sparsity of young people is noticeable. The causes and consequences of this decline should give us pause.
They may appear spontaneous, or unreasonable, against the magnificent and bustling centre of Riga, but as I hope to have shared, Jēkabpils and ‘cities’ like it are fragrant with a long-reaching history, and only interesting, or explicable, by reference to that history. If you walk the strange, winding streets, the grounds of the castle, the bank of Daugava, with the image of Peter the Great, Swedish Generals from a much diminished empire, persecuted Russian emigrants… if you contemplate that the same river that cuts through the town was used by merchants for over two thousand years, to transport goods toward the heart of Russia, and in the other direction, to Europe proper… if, dear friends, you can conjure up the precious image of that rich Count deciding to declare a city where he had seen a lynx beneath a fir tree, then your day (do make it one day) in Jēkabpils will be, at the same time, a day in Latvia’s past.
Увидимся скорo!
Laef, currently studying Russian at Liden & Denz Riga
