The first railway station in Latvia in Kārsava and the village of Bozova
Infrastructure

In 1860, during the construction of the strategically important St. Petersburg-Warsaw railway line for the Russian Empire, the Kārsava railway station was built. A village grew up around it, in which individual buildings have survived to this day, which is not found anywhere else in Latvia. The Bozova station in Kārsava today has a rich and ancient history.

When the St. Petersburg–Warsaw line was opened in 1861 with stations in Korsovka (today – Bozova), Ivanovka (Mežvidi), Režitsa (Rēzekne), Antonopolė (Malta), Rušona, Viški and Dvinsk (Daugavpils), the Latgale region woke up from centuries of stagnation and during the next decades an unprecedented development of economic life began. Settlements began to develop along the railway and a rapid population growth began, both at the expense of migration and natural increase.

In 1919, the official name of the station was Korsova, and in 1921 it was renamed Kārsava. The Kārsava station building is probably the oldest railway station building in Latvia, but due to numerous renovations it has lost most of its decor and bears little resemblance to a building built in the 19th century.

On January 10, 1920, during the battles for the liberation of Latgale, the Kārsava station was captured, thus cutting off enemy traffic with Pskov, and on January 11 – the city of Kārsava. The monthly magazine "Aizzargs" reported that the 1st battalion of the Latgale partisan regiment had broken into the Kārsava station, seized the railway line and rich war booty – 110 wagons, four locomotives, one tank, four telegraph machines, etc.

During the Soviet occupation, other services developed at railway stations in addition to direct railway services. Next to the telephone, telegraph, post office, market, and livestock market, there was often a shop, various newspaper and fruit kiosks. After World War II, stations continued to develop as points for transshipment of goods and materials.

A guided tour can be booked at the Cultural History Center "Līču mājas" in Kārsava.