The most important Catholic spiritual centre in Latvia and the sacred site on a global scale, where every year on the day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – on 15 August – hundreds of thousands of pilgrims arrive from all Eastern Europe, is located in Aglona, a picturesque Latgalian town surrounded by lakes.

Spiritual Centre for the tribes of the Balts

Scientists believe that in Aglona the nations of Balts have lived almost two thousand years before the Christ. Name “Aglona” has originated from the word “fir” (“egle” in Latvian language Latgalian dialect) – in ancient times this area was covered in thick fir forests, lakes and rivers.