In the Saeima transcript, 27 September 2001 looks like an ordinary working day, yet it opened the way for a new nameplate in Latgale’s higher education. The deputies treated the bill “On the Constitution of Daugavpils University” as urgent and passed it in the first reading; from the rostrum, Dzintars Ābiķis explained that the former Daugavpils Pedagogical University was no longer merely a teacher-training institution – it offered philology, economics, social sciences and computer design. The vote was clean: 68 in favour, none against or abstaining.
The renaming of the Daugavpils institution as a university belonged to the wider reshaping of Latvian higher education in the 1990s and early 2000s, as regional institutions sought broader academic profiles and a clearer place on the national education map. For Latgale, it meant a stronger university centre outside Riga.
Related events
- 1817On 27 September 1817, the Victory Column was erected in Riga’s Castle Square to honour the Russian Empire’s victory in the War of 1812; it later became a marker of memory and imperial power in the cityscape.
- 1925On 27 September 1925, on the right bank of the Daugava opposite Krustpils Castle, the monument “To Those Who Fell for the Fatherland” was unveiled for soldiers of Krustpils parish who died in Latvia’s War of Independence.
- 1945On 27 September 1945, Velga Krile was born at Strautiņi in Valka parish; she became a Latvian poet and playwright, and seven poetry collections appeared during her lifetime.