DOBELE COUNTY
On July 1, 2021, when the work of the newly elected county councils began, the Administrative Territorial Reform of Latvia entered into force. As a result, the former counties of Dobele, Auce and Tērvete have been merged into one - the new Dobele County.
According to the Law of Administrative Territories and Settlements, there are 7 national cities and 36 counties in Latvia now.
The Dobele County includes two towns – Dobele and Auce – and 19 parishes (pagasts): Annenieki, Augstkalne, Auri, Bēne, Bērze, Biksti, Bukaiši, Dobele, Īle, Jaunbērze, Krimūnas, Lielauce, Naudīte, Penkule, Tērvete, Ukri, Vecauce, Vītiņi, Zebrene.
Area of the territory: 1629.33 km², including the former Dobele County (888.57 km²), the former Auce County (516.97 km²) and the former Tērvete County (223.79 km²).
Population: 30 556 (as of 01.01.2021), including the former Dobele County (20 608), the former Auce County (6654) and the former Tērvete County (3294).
The current web site of Auce
The current web site of Tērvete
The administrative centre of the municipality is Dobele Town. It lies on the banks of the Bērze River, 72 km from Riga, the capital of Latvia.
Dobele and its neighbourhood were inhabited already in the Stone Age. The archeological excavations give evidence about a settlement - ancient town - next to the Castle Mound in the 1st century B.C. The first written records about Dobele were dated in 1254, when Dobele was first mentioned in the Act of the Division of Semigallia among the Livonia Order, the Archbishop of Riga and the Riga Dome Chapter of Priests.
In July 2004, the citizens of Dobele and its visitors were participants of the magnificent celebration of the 750 anniversary since the name of Dobele was first mentioned in the historical record - Semigallia Division Act.
Nowadays the attention of every resident of Dobele and its visitors is attracted by the Dobele Castle, the Dobele Liberation Monument, the Lutheran Church built more than 500 years ago, and the recently built Catholic All-Saint Trinity Church. Besides, one can visit the Local History Museum, the historical centre of town - the Market Place with a variety of shops and cafes around it, and the Forest Park Ķestermežs. Dobele is famous for the Latvian Institute of Horticulture with its vast and beautiful selection garden, which among other things hosts the largest lilac collection in Latvia and one of the largest ones in the world.
In the Dobele County, there are large areas of fertile agricultural land; therefore, the county is rich in productive agricultural farms.
Nowadays the industrial production is of great importance in the economical development of the entire Dobele County. Different household chemical goods, chemical building materials and candles are produced here. There are agricultural products processing plants, as well as timber, metal works and sewing companies in Dobele.
The Dobele County is famous for its special events characteristic to each of the four seasons of a year. This is the Lilac Festival in spring, the Ancient Castle Festival in summer, the Apple Festival in autumn and the Snowmen Parade in winter. These festivals include a variety of activities that attract a great number of local inhabitants as well as tourists from Latvia and abroad. In order to describe each of these festivals, much more space is needed than we can have here. So better come and see by your own eyes!
You are sincerely welcome to Dobele!
