Ventspils

Ventspils (, formerly ???????; German: Windau, Polish: Windawa, Livonian: V?nta) is a city in northwestern Latvia on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Venta river, which passes through the city. Ventspils's population was estimated in 2004 to be about 39,600. It is located at .

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Ventspils developed from a castle of the Livonian Order and was first mentioned in chronicles in 1290. It was chartered in 1314 and became an important mercantile city of the Hanseatic League.

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Ventspils is an important ice-free port. Large amounts of oil and other mineral resources from Russia are loaded aboard ships at Ventspils. The revenue from port services has made Ventspils the wealthiest city in Latvia.

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The city has a university college, Ventspils Augstskola, and a basketball team that has won the Latvian championship in the last several years. In the 2001/2002 season, the team took third place in the NEBL.

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Ventspils Airport, one of the three international airports in Latvia, is located in the city.

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German: German may mean:...

Polish: Polish () may refer to:...

Livonian: Livonian can refer to one of the following....