Dobele
Town and capital of Dobele Municipality, Latvia
Dobele (Latvian pronunciation: [dobele] ⓘ; German: Doblen) is a town and seat of Dobele Municipality in the Semigallia region of Latvia. It is located near the center of Latvia on the banks of the river Bērze. It received town rights in 1917 whilst being a part of the German occupied Courland Governorate during the First World War. As of 2020, the population was 8,856.
01Name origin
In a German document from 1254 a place name Dubelene or Dubelone has been used. Later the names Doblene, Doblenen and Doblen also have been used for this inhabited location. The original place name can be reconstructed as Dobelene or Dobeliene, but its origins are linked to the place name duobe (pit or delve) and duobele (dip, dimple). Most likely, the reconstructed place name Dobelene meant 'populated area in a dimple'.
02History
Dobele is first mentioned in historical sources in 1254; however, at that time it was only a wooden fortress which was destroyed during the Semigallian War of Independence (1279-1290), the final phase of the Northern Crusades in Latvia. On its spot, a new stone castle was erected in 1335 and a small settlement grew up around it. The ruins of this fortress are still visible and are in the process of being restored. The original church was constructed in 1495, and eventually, the fortress developed into a trading post. In the 17th century, a watermill, sawmill, a cardigan mill, and a vinegar-works were constructed during the reign of duke Jacob Kettler. In 1927, the Jelgava-Liepāja Railway connected the city to other important towns and a period of development resulted.
03Industry
Dobele is the home of many large enterprises, such as the AS Dobeles dzirnavnieks mill (a subsidiary of Tartu Mill), the Seal/Spodrība chemical plant, the Baltic Candles candle factory, steel structure and component maker SIA East Metal. The headquarters of the country-wide fuel station network Astarte-Nafta and the construction material manufacturer Tenax Grupa are also located within the town.
04Culture
The town of Dobele has a Cultural Centre as well as a museum. The town is also the location of 8 nationally protected monuments, such as the old castle, church, and town hall.
There are several annual festivals and holidays celebrated including the Ielīgosim Jāņus, the Midsummer celebration, and the jubileja, or festival, which changes yearly.
05Climate
Dobele has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb).
| Climate data for Dobele (1991-2020 normals, extremes 1949-present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 10.4 (50.7) |
13.8 (56.8) |
20.0 (68.0) |
26.5 (79.7) |
30.6 (87.1) |
33.1 (91.6) |
35.8 (96.4) |
35.1 (95.2) |
30.7 (87.3) |
23.5 (74.3) |
16.8 (62.2) |
11.5 (52.7) |
35.8 (96.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −0.3 (31.5) |
0.0 (32.0) |
4.5 (40.1) |
12.0 (53.6) |
17.7 (63.9) |
20.9 (69.6) |
23.7 (74.7) |
23.0 (73.4) |
17.5 (63.5) |
10.7 (51.3) |
4.7 (40.5) |
1.2 (34.2) |
11.3 (52.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.6 (27.3) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
0.7 (33.3) |
6.6 (43.9) |
12.0 (53.6) |
15.6 (60.1) |
18.1 (64.6) |
17.4 (63.3) |
12.6 (54.7) |
7.0 (44.6) |
2.5 (36.5) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
7.2 (45.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.2 (22.6) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
1.9 (35.4) |
6.2 (43.2) |
10.0 (50.0) |
12.7 (54.9) |
12.1 (53.8) |
8.1 (46.6) |
3.6 (38.5) |
0.3 (32.5) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
3.2 (37.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −34.1 (−29.4) |
−35.9 (−32.6) |
−25.7 (−14.3) |
−13.2 (8.2) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
0.3 (32.5) |
4.7 (40.5) |
1.9 (35.4) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
−9.2 (15.4) |
−21.7 (−7.1) |
−31.9 (−25.4) |
−35.9 (−32.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 38.6 (1.52) |
29.6 (1.17) |
29.6 (1.17) |
32.3 (1.27) |
42.9 (1.69) |
66.6 (2.62) |
77.1 (3.04) |
64.0 (2.52) |
53.8 (2.12) |
62.2 (2.45) |
45.0 (1.77) |
38.8 (1.53) |
580.5 (22.87) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 108 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 88.0 | 86.0 | 79.4 | 71.1 | 68.6 | 73.0 | 75.2 | 76.2 | 81.5 | 86.3 | 89.9 | 89.9 | 80.4 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 40.1 | 69.6 | 147.1 | 209.2 | 291.4 | 286.8 | 305.5 | 262.9 | 175.9 | 107.7 | 40.5 | 30.7 | 1,967.4 |
| Source 1: LVĢMC | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA (precipitation days, humidity 1991-2020) | |||||||||||||
06Demographics
Latvians make up 75.5% of the population while Russians, at 14%, are a significant minority. Other groups include Belarusians - 3.3%, Lithuanians - 2.3%, Ukrainians -1.8%, Poles - 1.5%, and 1.6% are of other nationalities.
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07Notable people
- Oskars Bārs (1848-1914), architect
- Gunārs Saliņš (1924-2010), modernist poet
- Alexei Kudrin (born 1960), politician, economist
- Linda Mūrniece (born 1970), politician, journalist
- Uldis Augulis (born 1972), politician
- Viktors Ščerbatihs (born 1974), weightlifter, Olympic silver-medalist
- Andris Naudužs (born 1975), racing cyclist
- Gatis Eglītis (born 1978), politician
- Lauris Reiniks (born 1979), musician
- Andrejs Šeļakovs (born 1988), basketball player
- Māris Bogdanovičs (born 1991), cyclist
- Emīls Liepiņš (born 1992), cyclist
- Ritvars Suharevs (born 1999), weightlifter
- Kristers Tobers (born 2000), football player
- Daniela Ivanova (born 2002), weightlifter
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Dobele”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Dobeles pilsdrupas 1.jpg by PROP1001, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ethnicities in Dobele.jpg by Aaker, Public domain
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