Ilūkste

Ilūkste (; ; ) is a town in Augšdaugava Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia. The population in 2020 was 2,216.

== History == The territory of modern Ilūkste was inhabited by the Selonians, an ancient Baltic tribe. As a settlement Ilūkste started to grow in the beginning of the 16th century when it was part of the Livonian Confederation and was administered by the Komtur of Daugavpils. Ilūkste was first mentioned in written sources in 1559 as a small village, part of the estate lands of Count Kasper Sieberg. After the secularization of the Livonian Order, Ilūkste became part of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. In 1567 a Lutheran church was built in Ilūkste. Many Russian Old Believers found refuge in Ilūkste during this period. During 17th century local landowner Bartholomew Zieberg offered refugee to Jesuits who were expelled from Swedish-controlled Riga. As a result, a wooden Catholic church was built in Ilūkste in 1690. In the 18th century Jesuits constructed a large Catholic church with two towers which at that time was one of the biggest in Latvia.