Rezekne

Sister cities

• Arendal Municipality
• Lainate
• Sianów
• Soroca
• Suwałki
• Utena
• Częstochowa
• Vitebsk

History

A Latgalian hill fort is known to have existed at Rēzekne from the 9th to the 13th centuries, until its destruction at the hands of German crusaders of the Livonian Order. In 1285, the knights built a stone fortress on the site, which is today known as Rēzekne castle ruins, to serve as a border post on their eastern frontier. The name Rēzekne was first documented in 1285. Throughout its early history, Rēzekne was attacked many times by Russian and Lithuanian forces. In 1559, the town passed to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. During the Livonian War, it was occupied by Russians in 1567 and 1577. The Swedes demolished the castle's ramparts and the castle fell into ruins over time. Rēzekne was recaptured by troops of the Soviet 2nd Belorussian Front on 27 July 1944. Due to the heavy air-bombing by Soviet forces in 1944, two-thirds of its buildings were destroyed. Out of a pre-war population of 13,300, only 5,000 people remained in the city at the end of the war. Rēzekne was rebuilt after the war with an emphasis on industrial development. Rēzekne had the 5th highest industrial output in the Latvian SSR, including a dairy processor (Rēzeknes Piena konservu kombināts), a lumber mill, and an electric-instrument factory (Rebir).

Most-observed species

• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  89
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  74
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  50
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  50
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow

  Passer montanus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  47
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  44
• Yellowhammer

  Emberiza citrinella Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  40
• Rock Pigeon

  Columba livia J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  39