Lynx – the symbol of Jçkabpils. The place where Jçkabpils now is had been a hithe for the raftsmen and bargemen of Daugava since centuries. Once there was a tavern named ‘Salas krogs’, where merchants would stay for the night during their long journey. Soon a merchant village formed around the tavern. There is a legend which tells how the village turned into the town of Jçkabpils. Once upon a time Jacob, the Duke of Kurzeme, went hunting. He wandered long and far through the forests without any success. All of a sudden he saw a lynx under a big spruce, a mysterious wild animal that only the most skilled hunters can catch. The Duke hunted down the lynx. In honour of the successful hunt, in 1670 the Duke granted the nearest village the status of a town, naming it after himself – Jakobstadt (Jçkabpils). ‘The lynx shall be on the coat of arms of the town!’ – decided the Duke. Since the 17th century, the coat of arms of Jçkabpils shows a lynx under a spruce. Its footprints can still be seen on the town streets and the lynx itself can be spotted on the Old Town Square, in the heart of the town.