  rÄzekne ( ; latgalian rÄzne  or rÄzekne ; ; ) is a city in the latgalia region of eastern latvia in rÄzekne river valley, also known by the nickname latgales sirds (latgalian latgolys sirds) meaning the heart of latgalia. built on seven hills, rÄzekne is situated  east of riga, and  west of the latvian-russian border, at the intersection of the moscow â riga and warsaw â saint petersburg railways. it has a population of 35,883 (2008), making it the 7th largest city in latvia . == history == thumb|200px|left|rÄzekne early 20th century a latgalian hill fortrÄzekne.com. "history." retrieved october 4, 2006. is known to have existed at rÄzekne from the 9th to the 13th centuries, until its destruction at the hands of german crusaders of the livonian order. in 1285, the knights built a stone fortress on the site, which is today known as [[rÄzekne castle|rÄzekne castle rui
Castles_of_the_Teutonic_Knights Cities_in_Latvia Republican_cities_of_Latvia RAzekne Vitebsk_Governorate