Jelgava

Lielupe river and Jelgava palace

Jelgava (German: Mitau) is a city in Latvia about 41 km southwest of Riga.

Understand

It is useful to understand that although from 1940 to 1991 Latvia was a constituent republic of the USSR, the official language is Latvian. However, a significant minority (up to 40% nationwide and possibly just over 50% in the capital Riga) is Russian-speaking. The majority of ethnic Latvians living in the city, not only those old enough to have attended school during Soviet times, can also speak and understand Russian. However, many prefer to converse in Latvian. English and also German are widely understood at places regularly visited by tourists and foreigners but you may be out of luck when leaving the city centre or visiting places off the beaten track.

• 1 Jelgava Regional Tourism Centre, ☏ +371 63 005 447. The tourist information centre is located inside the Holy Trinity Church Tower. (updated Apr 2019)

Get in

By bus

A bus line departs from Riga coach station, takes 45-50 min and the fare is €2.30 (as of February 2019). The buses are frequent and depart roughly every 10-15 mins. They arrive at 1 Jelgavas autoosta.

By train

From 27 Dec 2023 a daily train plies from Lithuania. It leaves Vilnius at 06:30, calling at Siauliai and Joniškis, and reaches Jelgava at 10:05. It continues to Riga but you can't use it just for the Latvian sector. The southbound train picks up in Jelgava at 16:08 to reach Vilnius at 19:50.

Train service to Jelgava extends to all parts of the country as well as other big cities like Saint Petersburg. However, the tickets do not include information about the time and place to catch the train, that information must be looked up on the train departures info table. Regional trains from Riga takes 50 min, the fare is €1.90 and the train departs every 30-60 minutes as of February 2019.

• 2 Jelgava railway station, Stacijas iela 1. (updated Oct 2022)

By boat

Jelgava is on the bank of river Lielupe, which is connected to the Baltic Sea. It is possible to dock at Jelgava Yacht Club on Pils Island or next to Mītava Bridge on Pasta Island.

By car

You can travel by taxi from Riga or Riga airport.

Get around

You can get around by foot, taxi or bus. There is a very good bus line. Line 1 will take you from one part of the city to another.

Checkout this website for route planner and timetables.

See

Academia Petrina

• 1 Jelgava Palace, Lielā iela 2 (on Pils Island of river Lielupe), ☏ +371 63005617. Similar palace to Rundales and Winter Palace in St. Peterburg, created by Bartolomeo Rastrelli. €2.00. 
• 2 Academia Petrina, Akadēmijas iela, ☏ +371 63 023 383. A museum with several interesting churches. 
• Victory Park (Uzvaras). A memorial park. Once called Hyde Park because of the rallies of the Awakening. Hosts many concerts and international festivals, including the largest annual ice sculpture festival in the Baltics. 
• 3 Jelgava branch of the Latvian Railway History Museum (Latvijas Dzelzceļa vēstures muzejs, Jelgavas ekspozīcija), Stacijas iela 3 (Across from the Jelgava Railway Station), ☏ +371 63 096 494. W, F, Sa: 10AM-5PM; Th: 11AM-7PM; Closed Su-Tu. A small museum with extensive collection of artifacts, photographs and diagrams documenting the history of railway in Jelgava and Latvia. €1.50. (updated Mar 2019)

Do

• Latvian FreeFly Peppers. Parachute jumps. You can do tandem or solo skydives at Jelgava airfield. 
• Football: FK Jelgava play soccer in Virslīga, the top tier. Their home ground Zemgales Olimpiskais Centrs (capacity 1500) is just north of town centre. The playing season is April-Nov.

Learn

"Brainstorm", probably the most popular rock-band from Eastern Europe, has emerged from a cradle called Jelgavas 1. vidusskola (Secondary School No 1), where also such National talents as A. Skrastins, A. Vaznis, E. Radzina, A. Skele, E. Repse have made their first steps in the world of fame.

Latvijas Lauksaimniecibas Universitāte — University of Agriculture of Latvia is a well recognized university.

Buy

• 1 Karamelu darbnica, Rūpniecības iela 1A, ☏ +371 29 851 426. M-F 09:00-18:00, Sa 11:00-15:00. Buy candies directly from the manufacturer. The store carries many types of candies and with many flavours. It also has a daily live demonstration of candy making. (updated Jul 2022)

Eat

What

Jelgava's special dishes are Duke’s sail and Charlotte's kiss that remind of the town's history as the capital of Courland Duchy. Duke's sail is a main course, made of oven-baked pork that has been prepared in a special marinade. It is served with caramelized sauerkraut, a variety of roasted vegetables and roots, red bilberry sauce and horseradish. Dessert Charlotte's kiss is made of egg-curd cream and jelly mousse sorting made of two kinds of juice. Its mild taste is refreshed with fruit-berry mash sauce. The dishes are available at most popular restaurants in Jelgava.

Where

• 1 Kafe Picerija. M-Th 10:00-21:00, F 10:00-22:00, Sa 11:00-22:00, Su 11:00-21:00. Delicious and great variety of local dishes and foreign improvisations. Try the Podins Ar Vistas Gacu, a funny looking pot filled with chicken, potato, cheese mix and a white bread baking over it. Great reviews, check. Free Wi-Fi. €1.50-3 per dish. (updated Aug 2019)

Drink

Bars

• Chocolatte & Pepper. A cafe/cocktail bar with a wide choice of alcoholic and nonalcoholic cocktails and drinks and offer tasty dishes. 
• Klondaika. A popular bar and gambling place. 
• Kreklukrogs, Lielā iela 19A, ☏ +371 26 633 433. A pub and restaurant serving large portions of food. 

Nightclubs

• Tonuss. A night club playing the latest dance music for a younger public. There are several dance floors and bars in the night club. Entrance fee is usually €1.5-4.5. 

Sleep

There are two main hotels in Jelgava and several smaller hotels and motels.

• 1 Hotel Jelgava, Lielā iela 6 (Beside the bridge that serves as the main road getting into/out of the city). Can accommodate up to 66 people and is in the center of Jelgava by Driksa River. Jelgava Palace, Holy Trinity church tower Academia Petrina and many other tourist attractions are within a five-minute walk. There is a bar and restaurant Plate on the first floor. Double room €85. 
• 2 Hotel Zemgale, Skautu iela, ☏ +371 63007707, viesnica@skzemgale.lv. Can accommodate up to 53 people. It is next to sports complex Zemgale and is a favourite for athletes. Next to the hotel is bowling Zemgale with a bar. Double room €47. 

Connect

There is free Wi-Fi at the Jelgava train station.