Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in status and size, though not necessarily equal; a city and a substantially smaller suburb would not typically qualify, even if they were once separate. Tri-cities and quad cities are similar phenomena involving three or four municipalities.
The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea are sometimes referred to as the "Baltic nations", less often and in historical circumstances also as the "Baltic republics", the "Baltic lands", or simply the Baltics.
Imatra is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. Imatra is dominated by Lake Saimaa, the Vuoksi River and the border with Russia. On the other side of the border, 7 kilometres (4 mi) away from the centre of Imatra, lies the Russian town of Svetogorsk. St Petersburg is situated 210 km (130 mi) to the southeast, Finland's capital Helsinki is 230 km (140 mi) away and Lappeenranta, the nearest Finnish town, is 37 km (23 mi) away. Imatra belongs to the administrative province of Southern Finland and the region of South Karelia.
Marijampolė is a cultural and industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Marijampolė is 48,700 (2003). It is the Lithuanian center of the Suvalkija region.
Valga is a town in southern Estonia and the capital of Valga County and Valga Parish. Until their separation in 1920, Valga and the town of Valka in northern Latvia were one town. They are now twin-towns. The area of Valga is 16.5 square kilometres and that of Valka is 14.2 km2 (5.5 sq mi). Their populations are respectively 12,261 and 6,164. On 21 December 2007 all border-crossing points were removed and roads and fences opened between the two countries with both countries joining the Schengen Agreement.
The Soviet westward offensive of 1918–1919 was part of the campaign by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic into areas abandoned by the Ober Ost garrisons that were being withdrawn to Germany following that country's defeat in World War I. The initially successful offensive against the Republic of Estonia ignited the Estonian War of Independence which ended with the Soviet recognition of Estonia. The war against Republics of Latvia and Lithuania was more successful for the Soviets, and resulted in the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic and Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republics being established. In Belarus, the Belarusian People's Republic was conquered and the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia proclaimed.
Valka is a town and municipality in northern Latvia, on the border with Estonia along both banks of the river Pedele.
Tvrdošín is a town in central Slovakia.
The rail transport system in Estonia consists of about 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) of railway lines, of which 900 kilometres (560 mi) are currently in public use. The infrastructure of the railway network is mostly owned by the state and is regulated and surveyed by the Estonian Technical Surveillance Authority.
JSC Latvian Railway was established on 2 September 1991 and is seen as the successor of the Latvian Railway Board which was established on 5 August 1919.
Valka Municipality is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Valka town, Ērģeme Parish, Kārķi Parish, Valka Parish, Vijciems Parish and Zvārtava Parish; the administrative centre being Valka. In 2016 it was announced that due to better welfare and higher salaries in neighbouring Estonia, over 10% of municipality's inhabitants have registered themselves as inhabitants of Valga County. The population in 2020 was 7,603.
Lugaži is a village in the Valka Parish of Valka municipality in Latvia.
BC Valga-Valka, also known as BC Valga-Valka/Maks & Moorits for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball club representing the twin towns of Valga, Estonia and Valka, Latvia. The team plays in the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League. Their home arena is the Valga Sports Hall. From 2015 to 2018 the team uniquely competed in both Estonian and Latvian domestic top leagues.
The Walk Crisis was an episode in Estonia–Latvia relations over the territorial dispute along the border between the two countries, chiefly about the town of Walk and the island of Runö. The territorial dispute lasted from both countries' independence in 1918 until its settlement in a border agreement in October 1920.
