Dobele

a city, the center of Dobele Raion, Latvian SSR. Situated on the Bérze River (Lielupe basin). Dobele has a railroad station on the Riga-Liepája line, 72 km southwest of Riga. Population, 10,000 (1970). Dobele produces chemicals, rubber household articles and dairy products. It has a horticultural laboratory affiliated with the Institute of Agriculture of the Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR. Dobele has been well known since the 13th century, becoming a city in 1917.