Jekabpils Municipality
Where Selonia meets Latgale across the Daugava. The Soviets merged two rival cities in 1962. Sēlpils Castle (conquered 1208) is now an island.
Jēkabpils straddles the Daugava where two Latvian regions meet: Selonia on the left bank, Latgale on the right. The Soviets forced the union in 1962, merging historic Jēkabpils with Krustpils across the river. The cities retain distinct characters despite sharing a name.
Sēlpils Castle, 17 km northwest, was the military and political center of the Selonians—a Baltic tribe that allied with Lithuanians to raid Latgalian and Livonian territories. When Bishop Albert captured it in 1208, the subjugation of Selonia began. Archaeological excavations (1963-1965) found cultural layers spanning from Stone Age flint points to crusader masonry built directly atop 10th-century ramparts. The Pļaviņas Dam reservoir (1965) turned these ruins into an island.
The Selonian language is extinct. A subdialect survives among some inhabitants. The Selonian Farm museum reconstructs 19th-century rural life, housed in six period buildings. Krustpils Castle (13th century) contains the regional history museum.
The first Daugava bridge here opened in 1936 and was blown up in World War II. Its 1962 replacement finally connected towns that had faced each other for centuries. By 2026, Jēkabpils must find identity beyond administrative convenience—two cities still learning to be one.