city in eastern Latvia
Rezekne (Latgalian: Rēzne, Russian: Резекне) is in Latgale, Latvia.
The town is a good place from which to explore the nearby Rāzna National Park, which contains Lake Rāzna, Latvia's second largest. Being a major rail junction, Rezekne is a place where travellers may get stuck for a few hours/days between trains.
Rēzekne was first mentioned in 1285. In the 9th century, there was a Latvian castle here, which was destroyed in the 13th century by German crusaders belonging to the Order of the Earth. Consequently, they built a new stone castle as a checkpoint for the eastern border of the League Confederation.
In 1582, the city became Polish, as part of the Duchy of Lijfland. After the first Polish division, it went with the rest of Latgale under the Russian empire.
The first congress of the Latgale region was held in Rēzekne in spring 1917, during the World War I. Following the independence of Latvia in 1918, the city became its cultural centre.
Rēzekne has two train stations. The Moscow-Riga trains stop at Rezekne 2. The Riga-St Petersburg and Vilnius-St Petersburg trains call at Rezekne 1. Both stations are fairly central. Local trains run several times daily to Riga.
