News

Today, at the Zemgale Region Competence Development Center (ZRCDC), in three categories, the Annual Business Awards of the Jelgava city were presented for the fifth time. A total of nine city companies were awarded, recognized highly by customers for their goods and services and nominated for the municipal competition. Additionally, for the first time at the event, participants of Jelgava municipality’s social entrepreneurship idea competition “Impulse” were honored, with awards presented to four companies.

Today, on November 10th, the British Ambassador to Latvia, Paul Brummell, visited Jelgava.

In this informative material, interested parties can get acquainted with facts and figures that provide an insight into the municipality’s budget, population, education, employment, economy, projects, construction, transportation, healthcare, as well as social, cultural, tourism, sports, and sister city-related aspects.

Today, from Duke Jacob Square in Jelgava, an aid cargo, including three jeeps and one cargo microbus, organized by entrepreneurs and associations, set out for Ukraine. For the first time, an aid convoy from Jelgava will head to the front line, spanning from Kharkiv to the Zaporizhia region, crossing a total of nine cities.

“Here, the engineers of the future will definitely grow!” – realizing the opportunities in one of the most modern secondary schools in the country – Jelgava Technology Secondary School – concluded the President of the State, Edgars Rinkēvičs. This was one of the goals – during the reconstruction of the school, to introduce innovative learning solutions and provide the technical infrastructure to allow students to explore IT and engineering by practical means.

Jelgava City Library has received a generous donation – 173 books in French – from Jelgava’s sister city in France, Rueil-Malmaison. The donation is special because it has significantly added to the library’s collection of books in French, which until now has been very small. Books in French are arranged on a special shelf in the children’s and youth library “Zinītis” at Zemgales Prospekts 7. “We really hope and believe that these books will encourage the people of Jelgava to learn this beautiful language,” says the library.

Mike Morley and Ana Consuela Vazquez, two police officers from the Jelgava sister city of Carmel (USA) Police Department, are spending their last working day patrolling the city together with Jelgava municipality police officers. After two weeks of experience exchange in Jelgava, they admit: “In general, our work is not very different, there are only certain nuances. We were pleasantly surprised by the video surveillance center of the Jelgava Municipality police, where inspectors monitor what is happening in the city 24 hours a day. Yes, we also have video surveillance, but it is mainly focused on monitoring the movement of transport, while here it is one of the tools for ensuring public order.”

This week, the winners of the “Sustainability in architecture, construction and design in the Baltics 2023” competition were welcomed in Riga, highlighting the most valuable buildings and objects in the Baltic States. The 3rd place in the nomination “The most sustainable building – public building” was awarded to Jelgava Municipality and the project implementers for the revitalization of the historical building of the block of Jelgava Vecpilsētas Street, which includes the Jelgava Old Town House and the Zemgale Restoration Center at Vecpilsētas Street 14, the House of Latvian traditions and crafts at Vecpilsētas Street 2 and café “Brokastnīca” Jāņas Asara street 1, but the 2nd place in the same nomination was won by the “Latvijas valsts meži” Customer Center building at Loka maģistrāle 2M.

In September, the sand sculpture park on the Pasta Island will be waiting for visitors on holidays – Saturdays and Sundays from 10 AM to 6 PM, it will be closed on weekdays.

One of the most popular tourist destinations in Jelgava is the palace built by architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, which currently houses the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. This year, the renovated Jelgava Palace celebrates its 285th anniversary since its foundation stone was laid, and it is open to visitors during the summer tourism season from June 1st to August 31st.

On June 10th and 11th, the 17th International Sand Sculpture Festival “Summer Signs 2023” will take place on Pasta Island in Jelgava, Latvia. During the festival, 17 sculptors from nine countries will depict world music hits in the sand. The opening days of the festival will feature concerts by Latvian musicians and a wide range of recreational activities for families with children.

The artist Jānis Šneiders began working on the mural “Live Broadcast” on the front of Jelgava Centra Elementary School. It will be dedicated to the theme of nature and is a gift to Jelgava from the “Viegli” educational initiative “Ziedoņas klase” of the Imants Ziedonis Foundation.