10 Interesting Facts About Jūrmala

Facts About Jūrmala

1. The name Jūrmala stems from Latvian jūra (“sea”) and mala (“edge”, “side”, “margin”), thus “seaside” in English.

2. As a result of the administrative-territorial reform of Latvia in 2009, Jūrmala became one of the republican cities of Latvia.

3. The Baltic Open tennis tournament, part of the WTA Tour, is held at the National Tennis Center Lielupe in Jūrmala in July, starting in 2019.

4. The Population of Jūrmala is 49,325, as of the 1st of January 2019.

5. Jūrmala is twinned with: Admiralteysky District, Russia; Alushta, Ukraine; Anadia, Portugal; Anaklia, Georgia; Ashdod, Israel; Cabourg, France; Eskilstuna, Sweden; Gävle, Sweden; Jakobstad, Finland; Jilin, China; Kazan, Russia; Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia; Palanga, Lithuania; Pärnu, Estonia; Samarkand, Uzbekistan; Shenyang, China; South-Western Administrative Okrug, Russia; Terracina, Italy; Tsqaltubo, Georgia & Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan.

6. The town has an official list of 414 historical buildings under protection, as well as over 4,000 wooden structures.

7. Jūrmala is the fifth largest city in Latvia.

8. The first swimming guests arrived in Kaugurciems in the 1730s. The first seaside spas were also opening around this time in England and France. The development of the swimming industry in Kaugurciems was halted in 1812 due to the war between Russia and France.

9. Jūrmala’s beach, slightly over 24 km in length, is formed of fine white silica sand, which has been brought here by the coastal stream over thousands of years.

10. The 2012 Winter Swimming World Championships were hosted in Jūrmala in January with a then-record 1,129 participants attending. This made Latvia the 3rd international host since its inception in 2000 at Helsinki, Finland.

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