Plavinas

The settlement that emerged in the second half of the XIX century got its name after the largest in the settlement peasant house “Pļaviņas”. Probably, the name comes from the Plawe tavern, noted as far back as 1791 in the Atlas of Mellin and located in the area of ​​the modern house of culture. The tavern was a place for meetings and recreation of raftsmen who drove rafts along the Daugava rapids, which were numerous in those parts. ^[6]

Castle mound and castle

The most ancient evidence of the existence of regular settlements in the area of ​​present-day Plavinas dates from the 3rd — 5th centuries AD. er and are known for archaeological finds from the site Lokstenes, supposedly founded by the people of the villages . The intensive growth of the settlement begins with the arrival of the Latgals in the 5th — 6th centuries and continues until the middle of the 11th century. ^[7]

The first mention of the Lokesten castle, subordinate to the archbishop of Lokesten, based on the site of the settlement, dates from the first half of 1354. It was looted by the army of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Keystuta during the Lithuanian invasion of 1375. The castle, which had great strategic importance, was restored and carried out its functions at least until the beginning of the second quarter of the 15th century, until it lost its importance due to the cessation of Lithuanian campaigns.

On September 15, 1437, the Riga Archbishop transferred the castle and manor to the knight’s possession of the knight Johann Lokste (whose name was derived from the name of the river and castle) and his adopted son Hire Shtokman, who inherited all his property. By the 17th century, the name of the Stockmanns hof was strengthened by the name of the descendants of the latter for the region. ^[eight]

Modern City

The settlement that emerged on the territory of the Shtokman Volost has been known since the second half of the 19th century. The development of the village is associated with the construction of the Rigo-Orlovskaya railway and its opening in 1861. In 1878, a pharmacy was opened, in 1894 a glass factory was built, which was subsequently destroyed during the First World War. At the turn of the century, there were already many warehouses and retail outlets in Plavinas, a post office, a railway station, enterprises for the extraction and burning of dolomite, an inn and two taverns. In 1902, the Shtokman-Vetsgulbenskaya narrow-gauge railway line was opened.

In 1917, Soviet power was established in Plavinas. In 1918, a temporary revolutionary committee was organized in the Shtokman volost to organize the establishment of Soviet power in the adjacent volosts. In the village was created so-called. Maliensky (vetsgulbensky) revolutionary tribunal.

During the fighting for the independence of the republic, the power of the Bolsheviks was overthrown, and in July 1919 the headquarters of the Kurzeme division was relocated to Plyavinas. Soon the headquarters of the entire Eastern Front was founded here, the command over which was immediately taken over by Janis Balodis. October 16, 1919 J. Balodis was proclaimed Supreme Commander of the Latvian Army. In memory of these events in 1934 a memorial plaque was installed here.

The rights of the city were granted on April 26, 1927, simultaneously with the accession of the neighboring settlement Gostini to Plavinas. However, in 1930, at the request of the residents of Gostiny, he was expelled from the city.

The Second World War in Plavinas ended in 1944. In 1950, the city became a district center. Here were the executive committee, the Plyavinsky court and the prosecutor's office, the financial department and the Plyavinsky bank. In 1956, the town of Gostiny was again incorporated into the city. In 1959, the district was eliminated. ^[6]

In the late sixties and early seventies, 30 km to the west of the city, construction began on the Baltic power station’s largest hydropower plant, Plyavinskaya Hydroelectric Station, and the creation of a reservoir of the same name, resulting in the flooding of most of the picturesque valley of the Daugava River and many natural and historical monuments, including the legendary cliff of Staburags. ^[9] In connection with the flooding of the coastal streets of the city, a part of the population was relocated to new four-storey buildings. The site Lokstenes was also flooded.

Rail Transport

Plavinas station on the Riga - Krustpils line .

The beginning of the railway line Plavinas - Gulbene .

Roads

• The regional road P37 Plavinas (Gostini) - Madona - Gulbene starts in Plavinas.
• On the outskirts of the city passes the main road A6 Riga - Daugavpils - Kraslava - Paternnieki.

• Zviedru Skansts ( Latvian. Zviedru Skansts ) - founded by the Swedish army during the Polish-Swedish Wars (1600-1629) at the confluence of Aiviekste in the Daugava powerful redoubts, partially preserved to this day.
• Lutheran Church of St. Peter (1911–1912)
• Lutheran Church in the Hotel (1828—1830)

• Sprogis, Ivan Yakovlevich (1833/1835 - 1916/1918) - Russian historian, archeographer, ethnographer.
• Jaunzeme, Inese Vilisovna (1932–2011) - Soviet Latvian spear thrower, orthopedic surgeon and specialist in plastic surgery.
• Bergmanis, Raimonds (1966) - Latvian statesman, Minister of Defense of Latvia since 2015, a weightlifter athlete.

• Official site of Plyavinsky region (Latvian) (English)
• Information about Plavinas on the mesta.lv travel portal (Rus.)
• Information about Plavinas in the toponymic database (Latvian.)