Livani Municipality
"Glass capital of Latvia": factory operated 1887-2008, museum opened 2013. Optical fiber continues the tradition. Two of Latvia's three river ferries cross the Daugava here.
Līvāni is the glass capital of Latvia—or was, until the factory closed in 2008 after 121 years. The industry arose from geography: local deposits of quartz sand, dolomite, and peat provided raw materials and fuel. The location at the Dubna-Daugava junction, 7 km from the ancient Latgalian state of Jersika, had drawn traders since the 11th century.
The name comes from a German landowner, Lieven, who built a mansion here in 1533—Lievenhof. The glass factory opened in 1887 and made Līvāni the third industrial center of Latgale after Daugavpils and Rēzekne. When the factory closed, the Glass Museum (opened 2013) preserved thousands of pieces "sparkling in all colors of the rainbow."
The technology didn't die entirely. Optical fiber production—descended from glassmaking—continues. Two of Latvia's only three river ferries cross the Daugava here, connecting Latgale to Sēlija.
Today Līvāni (population ~10,000) is called "the key to the gates of Latgale." By 2026, the question is whether glass heritage tourism and optical fiber manufacturing can replace what the factory once provided—or whether the gates swing only one direction, outward.