Valka Town, Latvia

Valka (German: Walk) is a town and municipality in northern Latvia, on the border with Estonia along both banks of the river Pedele.

Valka and the Estonian town Valga are twins, separated by the Estonian/Latvian border but using the slogan "One Town, Two Countries". The border dividing the Livonian town of Walk was marked out in 1920 by an international jury headed by British Colonel Stephen George Tallents. With the expansion of the Schengen Agreement and abolition of the Estonian/Latvian border in 2007, it was announced that common public bus transport would be established between Valka and Valga. Also, all border crossing-points were removed and roads and fences opened. In 2016 it was announced that due to better welfare and higher salaries in Estonia, many Valka inhabitants have registered themselves as inhabitants of Valga.

History
The town of Walk (in German) was first mentioned in 1286 and from 1419 was the seat of the Landtag of the Livonian Confederation. City rights were granted by the Polish-Lithuanian king Stefan Batory in 1584. However, the town gained its importance only at the end of the 19th century when the Vidzeme teacher's seminary was operating here, and the important railway junction was developed. Furthermore, the first narrow-gauge railway line in the territory of modern Latvia was stretched from Valka to Estonian city of Pärnu.

On November 15, 1917, the decision to proclaim the independent Republic of Latvia was made in Valka. The red-white-red flag of Latvia was raised here for the first time. The town was a subject of a dispute between the newly born Latvian and Estonian states, on July 1, 1920, the town was divided between the two states as a compromise.

Education
There is one primary school and a gymnasium in Valka. The Institute of Latvia-Estonia provides further education.
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