Varakļāni municipality (Varakļānu Novads)
Parts of Teiči Nature Reserve are located in Varakļāni Municipality. The population in 2020 was 2,990.
Within the 2021 Latvian administrative reform it was initially planned to merge Varakļāni Municipality into Rēzekne Municipality. After protests from locals, parts of which wanted to preserve the status quo or preferred joining Madona Municipality, the municipal council submitted a case to the Constitutional Court of Latvia in June 2020. On 28 May 2021 the court declared the planned merge is unconstitutional. However, on June 31 the Saeima voted to proceed with the merge, which prompted the involvement of the President of Latvia Egils Levits to avoid triggering a constitutional crisis. Ultimately, a decision was made to postpone the decision on the future of the Varakļāni and Rēzekne municipalities until 2025. Due to this, the 2021 Latvian local elections for the new municipalities were also held in Varakļāni.
* Administrative divisions of Latvia (2009)
Map - Varakļāni municipality (Varakļānu Novads)
Map
Country - Latvia
Flag of Latvia |
After centuries of Teutonic, Swedish, Polish-Lithuanian and Russian rule, which was mainly executed by the local Baltic German aristocracy, the independent Republic of Latvia was established on 18 November 1918 when it broke away from the German Empire and declared independence in the aftermath of World War I. However, by the 1930s the country became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934 establishing an authoritarian regime under Kārlis Ulmanis. The country's de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II, beginning with Latvia's forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union, followed by the invasion and occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941, and the re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944 to form the Latvian SSR for the next 45 years. As a result of extensive immigration during the Soviet occupation, ethnic Russians became the most prominent minority in the country, now constituting nearly a quarter of the population. The peaceful Singing Revolution started in 1987, and ended with the restoration of de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Since then, Latvia has been a democratic unitary parliamentary republic.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
EUR | Euro | € | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
LV | Latvian language |
LT | Lithuanian language |
RU | Russian language |