The City of Jelgava

The city of Jelgava, about 40 kilometers away from the Latvian capital Riga, has around 61,500 inhabitants and is located in the region “Zemgale”. Jelgava is traversed by the river Lielupe and offers – thanks to the city being built on a fertile tier – many green spaces. Therefore, the city is also considered as the greenest city of Latvia.

Jelgava has always been a center of economy, culture and education – just like today. Beyond that, the city is an important railroad junction and an important marketplace for grain and timber.

The most important landmark of the city is the Jelgava Palace, in which the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies is located today. The palace is directly at the riverside of the Lielupe and is surrounded by a big park. Other landmarks of the city are the Baroque church of St. Anne, the neo-Gothic Cathedral of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the tower of the destroyed Trinity church, the orthodox St. Anna’s Cathedral and the neoclassical buildings Villa Medem and Academia Petrina.

The student city offers a lot for young people and has everything a student might wish for, e.g. bars, shopping malls and other possibilities in order to make the most of your free time with your fellow students.

In order to get quickly from one place to another, Jelgava has a well built out bus and minibus network. However, most distances can be covered by foot or by bike easily. Beyond that, there are direct and very cheap train connections to e.g. Riga (ca. 2€), so that you will also be able to see some other Latvian cities.