Legend has it that in 1670 Duke Jēkabs of Kurzeme came hunting and hunted a lynx in the forest near the Daugava. Overwhelmed by his successful hunting, he gave the town rights to the settlement near the Sala Inn, where the duke was staying, and gave it the name Jacobstadt in his honor, which we know today as Jēkabpili.
In honor of this, in the Jēkabpils Old Town Square, the city’s symbol – the lynx – welcomes the guests of the city. It is said that a wish whispered into its earpiece comes true.
The Daugava, as a trade highway, as a war road, as a border river, has brought to the city so many different layers of culture that other cities can rarely boast of. The residents of the city honor and protect this value as the uniqueness of the multinational Jēkabpils. It is significant that the domes of the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit stand out most clearly in the silhouette of the left bank, which can be seen magnificently against the background of the Daugava covered in the evening sun. The only male monastery in the Baltics is also located here.
On the other hand, on the right bank, in the Krustpils castle, the oldest values created from the 13th century under the influence of German culture, as well as the evidence of other centuries are kept until today.
The historical centers of the city, the old network of streets, have been preserved on both sides of the city.
The ancient, beautiful and valuable can be found not only in the palace and noble churches. On the left bank of the river, the shape of the city center is made more proud by the former county school building with massive columns on the main facade, built in 1820. Also the building of the former Miertiesa (now the county council), built in 1880, with a facade decorated with richly profiled window frames and cornices in the eclectic style. On both sides of the Daugava – the oldest streets can be proud of many houses built of special profiled red clay bricks, with luxurious facades, which characterize Jēkabpils. Wooden residential houses are peculiarly valuable, reflecting the building traditions of the people and the skill of trained craftsmen. There you can see both the lasting investment of Old Believer carpenters in wooden architecture, and the tradition that came from Latgale – to build a courtyard fenced with a dense fence and gates.
You can casually run past all this and not realize that energy and strength can be gained from the presence of the old town, from the close, tangible, convenient scale. Jēkabpils wakes up next to the Daugava every morning. Both sides look at each other in surprise, because something has changed again.