Latgale or Latgalia (Latvian: Latgale, Latgale language: Latgolā) is one of the four cultural regions of Latvia recognised in the Constitution of the Latvian Republic. It is the easternmost region north of the Daugava river. While most of Latvia is historically Lutheran, Latgale is historically predominantly Roman Catholic.
The region has a large population of ethnic Russians, especially in Daugavpils, the largest city in the region. Many of the Russians who lived in Latgale before the Soviet occupation are Old Believers. Rēzekne, often called the heart of Latgola, Krāslava, and Ludza are other large towns in the region, which also has a Belarusian minority. There is still a significant Polish minority (Daugavpils has almost as many Poles as Latvians). As part of the Polotsk and Vitebsk guberniyas, the region was part of the Pale of Settlement and had a very large Jewish population -- but most of the Jews perished in the Holocaust and much of the remainder has emigrated.
The region is one of the poorest in the European Union, and unlike in the rest of Latvia a majority of voters was opposed to EU membership in the referendum on accession.
Due to its history several different names are historically used for Latgale.
Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia
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