Jump to content

Sēlpils Parish

Coordinates: 56°32′22″N 25°39′23″E / 56.5395°N 25.6565°E / 56.5395; 25.6565
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Sēlpils (disambiguation).
Sēlpils Parish
parish of Latvia
56°32′22″N 25°39′23″E / 56.5395°N 25.6565°E / 56.5395; 25.6565 Edit this at Wikidata
CountryLatvia
Area
[1]
 • Total
122.07 km2 (47.13 sq mi)
 • Land114.53 km2 (44.22 sq mi)
 • Water7.54 km2 (2.91 sq mi)
Population
 (1 January 2024)[2]
 • Total
631
 • Density5.2/km2 (13/sq mi)

Sēlpils Parish (Latvian: Sēlpils pagasts) is a large rural administrative unit within Jēkabpils Municipality in the Selonia region of south-eastern Latvia. Before the 2009 territorial reform, it belonged to the now-defunct Jēkabpils District.[3] The parish seat is located in the village of Sēlija, while Sēlpils, the historically significant site on the Daugava river, gives the parish its name. According to the 2024 national register, Sēlpils Parish had a permanent population of 705 spread over 225 km2, yielding a density of barely 3.1 inhabitants per km2.[4]

The parish occupies a plateau between the Daugava and Dienvidsusēja rivers, with rolling terrain shaped by glacial till, forest–field mosaics, and bog remnants, particularly the protected wetland Kalna zāļu purvs, included in Latvia's Natura 2000 network.[5] Near the Daugava River, Sēlpils village preserves the earthworks of a major Livonian Order castle, sacked by Swedish troops in 1704 during the Great Northern War.[6] Archaeological excavations led by Elvīra Šnore and Anna Zariņa (1963–1965) uncovered cultural layers ranging from Late Stone-Age flint points to a 10th–12th-century hillfort rampart directly beneath the crusader masonry,[7] and subsequent surveys, synthesised in Juris Urtāns' 1993 monograph on Daugava hillforts, confirm an unbroken sequence from Iron-Age settlement to crusader stronghold.[8]

Modern Sēlpils Parish supports low-intensity mixed agriculture, peat extraction, and small-scale timber processing. Ongoing rural-development initiatives, part-funded by the Latvian Rural Support Service, aim to preserve natural values while improving access to roads and water infrastructure across scattered villages such as Vecsēlpils, Plāteri and Puļpāni.[5]

Towns, villages and settlements of Sēlpils Parish

[edit]
  • Arbidāni
  • Bisenieki
  • Bitānkalns
  • Buivāni
  • Ezerciems
  • Gretes
  • Īlenāni
  • Ķipu kalns
  • Kleberkalns
  • Līkumi
  • Naudīdzāni
  • Pāvuli
  • Plāteri
  • Plītes
  • Priekšāni
  • Puļpāni
  • Riesti
  • Sēlija
  • Sēlpils
  • Spietiņi
  • Ūdrāni
  • Vecsēlpils
  • Zaķēni

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Reģionu, novadu, pilsētu un pagastu kopējā un sauszemes platība gada sākumā". Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Iedzīvotāju skaits pēc tautības reģionos, pilsētās, novados, pagastos, apkaimēs un blīvi apdzīvotās teritorijās gada sākumā (pēc administratīvi teritoriālās reformas 2021. gadā)". Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Administratīvo teritoriju un apdzīvoto vietu likums" [Law on Administrative Territories and Settlements]. Latvijas Vēstnesis (in Latvian). 18 December 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  4. ^ "IRD081. Population at the beginning of the year by sex, age group and territorial unit (1970–2024)". Centrālā statistikas pārvalde. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Sēlpils pagasta teritorijas plānojuma Vides pārskats" [Environmental Report for the Sēlpils Parish Spatial Plan] (PDF) (in Latvian). Vides pārraudzības valsts birojs. 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  6. ^ "The Selpils castle hill". Baltic Country Holidays. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Sēlpils pilskalns". Latvijas pilskalni (in Latvian). Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  8. ^ Urtāns, Juris (1993). Daugavzeme. Daugavas pilskalni. Rīga: Vade Mecum. pp. 142–148.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sēlpils_Parish&oldid=1288157050"