Aknīste

Aknīste
Town
Gates of the Sēļi Park

Coat of arms
Aknīste
Location in Latvia
Coordinates: 56°9′N 25°44′E / 56.150°N 25.733°E / 56.150; 25.733Coordinates: 56°9′N 25°44′E / 56.150°N 25.733°E / 56.150; 25.733
Country  Latvia
Municipality Aknīste municipality
Town rights 1991
Area
 • Total 133 km2 (51 sq mi)
Population
 • Total 1,133
 • Density 15/km2 (40/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code LV-5208
Calling code +371 652

Aknīste ( pronunciation ; Lithuanian: Aknysta) is a town in Aknīste Municipality, Selonia, in the southern portion of Latvia, near the Lithuanian border. The town is located near the river Dienvidsusēja. Prior to the 2009 administrative reforms it was part of Jēkabpils District.

History

The town name, Aknīste, was first mentioned in 1298. From the 17th century the settlement was a panhandle of Lithuania and after the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth part of the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire. Since 1918, part of Lithuania, but in the 1921, Lithuania exchanged Aknīste for Palanga.

The settlement was the site of a mass killing of Jewish residents, during the Nazi occupation of the Baltic states.[1] 98% of the approximately 140 Jews in Akniste before July 18, 1941 were killed, mostly by Latvian SS units before the Germans arrived in Akniste.[2]

In 1991, Aknīste was granted the town status.

See also

References


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