Balvi Explained

Balvi
Other Name:Bolvi
Settlement Type:Town
Flag Size:150px
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Latvia
Subdivision Type1:Municipality
Subdivision Name1:Balvi Municipality
Established Title:Town rights
Established Date:1928
Pushpin Map:Latvia
Pushpin Label Position:above
Pushpin Mapsize:300
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Latvia
Coordinates:57.1333°N 42°W
Blank Name Sec1:Number of municipal council members
Blank Info Sec1:15
Elevation M:113
Population Density Km2:auto
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:LV-4501
Area Code Type:Calling code
Area Code:+371 645
Timezone1:EET
Utc Offset1:+2
Timezone1 Dst:EEST
Utc Offset1 Dst:+3

Balvi (Polish Bołowsk) is a town in the Balvi Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia. It was the administrative seat of the district of the same name since 1949; prior to the occupation of Latvia, 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 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 was 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, ten years after Latvia proclaimed its independence.

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

Notable people