Zilupe is a town in Ludza Municipality, in the Latgale region of Latvia, by the Zilupe River, on the border with Russia. Zilupe's railway station is the final station for the Riga-Zilupe train route, which is one of the longest passenger rail routes in Latvia. The town first began to take shape during construction of the Ventspils-Moscow railway line in 1900, the station taking the name Rozenova, after the former landowner. Near the station, a small settlement of merchants and railroad workers formed. In 1908 there was already a police department, school and post office in Rozenova.