Ventspils, city and port of western Latvia, capital of Ventspils District, located on the Baltic Sea coast. Its port is nearly ice-free in winter, making the city a large producer and exporter of chemicals, fertilizers, lumber, and food products; oil is also exported from a pipeline from Russia that terminates here. Ventspils is home to a castle dating from the 13th century.
Ventspils was founded by Germanic Teutonic Knights in 1244 as the port Wernau, and until the 16th century it was part of the Hanseatic League, a commercial federation of German cities. After 1561 the city belonged to Kurland, an independent Livonian duchy under Polish control. Russia gained control of Ventspils in 1795. In 1918 it became part of Latvia. During World War II (1939-1945) the city was occupied first by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and later by Germany. After the war, the city was part of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic of the USSR, and the Soviets established a large naval base at Ventspils. When Latvia gained its independence in 1991, many non-Latvians who had worked at the naval base left, causing the local economy to suffer. Ventspils then sought foreign investment to offset the economic downturn. Population (1999 estimate) 46,501.
