![Illustration of Daugava Route](https://www.atrastalatvija.lv/app/uploads/2023/04/DaugavaRoute_AtrastaLatvija.png?ver=1.1.0)
A major waterway, a central artery, a link to other people and cultures, and a string of the Latvian heart. As a significant branch of the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, the river flourished during the Viking Age, eventually becoming a place and cause for wars, and serving as a conduit for goods until WWI.