Olaine

Olaine (pronunciation ; German: Olai) is a city in Latvia that gained town rights in 1967. The name comes from the Saint Olai Church, built by the Misa river under Swedish rule in the 17th century. An old cemetery remains at this site. After 1868, a railway stop "Olai" was built on the Riga-Mitau line. After Latvian independence, in 1919 "Olai" was renamed to "Olaine", in line with the Latvianisation of topological names all over Latvia.

Olaine
City
Railway station in Olaine
Flag Coat of arms
Olaine Location in Latvia
Coordinates: 56°47′N 23°56′E
Country	Latvia
District	Olaine Municipality
Town rights	1967
Government
• Mayor	Andris Bergs (LSDSP)
Area
• Total	6.824 km^2 (2.635 sq mi)
Population
• Total	12 719
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	LV-2114
Calling code	+371 67
Number of city council members	11

The history of Olaine is closely connected to a nearby peat bog first taken into use in 1940. Thereafter, more production facilities were built, increasing numbers of workers needed accommodation, and the first dwellings were built in what is currently known as Olaine. Previously, Olaine was the name of a village just two kilometers away. This village now has the name of Jaunolaine (New Olaine).

Olaine is home of Olainfarm, the second largest pharmaceutical company in Latvia.

Twin towns — sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Latvia

Olaine is twinned with:[1]

• Karlskoga, Sweden
• Nowa Sarzyna, Poland
• Ödeshög, Sweden
• Riihimäki, Finland
• Vadstena, Sweden

Notable people

• Gunta Baško - Latvian basketball player
• Rustams Begovs - Latvian hockey player
• Žaneta Jaunzeme-Grende - Latvian politician
• Dmitrijs Miļkevičs - Latvian athlete
• Jānis Kuzmins - World champion in slalom skateboarding

Literature

• Vilīte, Valda: Olaines pagasts (2008)

See also

• List of cities in Latvia

References

1. "Olaines novada – Attīstības programma 2014. – 2020. gadam" (PDF). olaine.lv (in Latvian). Olaine. p. 63. Retrieved 2019-08-31.