Preiļi

Preiļi (; Polish: Prele; German: Prely; Russian: Прейли, previously also Прели) is a town in Preiļi Municipality in the Latgale region of Latvia. It is also the administrative center of Preiļi Municipality.

Preiļi
Town
Daugavpils street in Preiļi
Coat of arms
Preiļi Location in Latvia
Coordinates: 56°18′N 26°43′E
Country	Latvia
District	Preiļi Municipality
Town rights	1928
Government
• Mayor	Ārijs Vucāns
Area
• Total	5.23 km2 (2.02 sq mi)
• Land	5.08 km2 (1.96 sq mi)
• Water	0.15 km2 (0.06 sq mi)
Population  (2024)
• Total	5,841
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	LV-5301
Calling code	+371 653
Number of city council members	11
Website	http://www.preili.lv/

History

Preiļi is one of the oldest settlements in Latvia. It was first mentioned in written sources in 1250. The Borch family manor was erected in 1836.

By 1897 Preiļi had a population of 2104. Preiļi has had city rights since 1928. By 1935 there were 1662 people living in Preiļi of whom 50.97% were Jews. After World War II there were less than 1000 people living in Preiļi. During the Soviet era many workers from Russia and Belarus started working in Preiļi and the population reached a peak of 9421 in 1989.

Mortuary of von Borch family in city park

Ruins of Preiļi Palace

Demographics

Demographics of Preiļi Latvians   54.4% Russians   39.6% Poles   1.9% Belarusians   1.5% Roma   1.2%

Notable people

• Jānis Ivanovs (1906-1983), classical music composer
• Antonija Vilcāne (born 1956), medieval archaeologist

Twin towns — sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Latvia

Preiļi is twinned with:

• Hlybokaye, Belarus
• Nizhyn, Ukraine
• Ocnița, Moldova
• Sahil, Azerbaijan
• Utena, Lithuania

See also

• List of cities in Latvia