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Daugavpils[dou´gAfpEls] Pronunciation Key, Ger. DUnaburg, city (1992 est. pop. 129,050), SE Latvia, on the Western Dvina River. It is a rail junction and commercial center. The city's industries produce lumber, food products, electric machinery, and textiles. It was founded (1278) by the Livonian Knights and became a strategic fortress. Passing (1561) to the combined kingdom of Lithuania and Poland, it was ceded to Russia in the first partition of Poland (1772). Daugavpils was a flourishing trade center until World War I. In independent Latvia (1918–40) it was the capital of Latgale prov. Its former (1893–1920) Russian name was Dvinsk.
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