Portal:Latvia
Portal maintenance status: (November 2018)
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Introduction
Latvia (/ˈlɑːtviə/ or /ˈlætviə/ (
listen); Latvian: Latvija [ˈlatvija]), officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. Since its independence, Latvia has been referred to as one of the Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia in the northern region, Lithuania in the southern, to the east is Russia, and Belarus to the southeast, as well as sharing a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2 (24,938 sq mi). The country has a temperate seasonal climate.
After centuries of Swedish, Polish and Russian rule, a rule mainly executed by the Baltic German aristocracy, the Republic of Latvia was established on 18 November 1918 when it broke away and declared independence from Russia in the aftermath of World War I. However, by the 1930s the country became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934 establishing an authoritarian regime under Kārlis Ulmanis. The country's de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II, beginning with Latvia's forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union, followed by the invasion and occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941, and the re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944 to form the Latvian SSR for the next fifty years.
Selected general articles
- Latvia replaced its previous currency, the lats, with the euro on 1 January 2014, after a European Union (EU) assessment in June 2013 asserted that the country had met all convergence criteria necessary for euro adoption.
The adoption process began 1 May 2004, when Latvia joined the European Union, entering the EU's Economic and Monetary Union. At the start of 2005, the lats was pegged to the euro at Ls 0.702804 = €1, and Latvia joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM ll), four months later on 2 May 2005. Read more... - This article provides an overview of the transport infrastructure of Latvia. Read more...
- The Declaration "On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia" (Latvian: Deklarācija par Latvijas Republikas neatkarības atjaunošanu) was adopted on 4 May 1990, by the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR. The Declaration stated that, although Latvia had de facto lost its independence in 1940, when it was annexed by the Soviet Union, the country had de jure remained a sovereign country as the annexation had been unconstitutional and against the will of the people of Latvia. Therefore it resolved that the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 were illegal, and annulled the declaration on the accession of Latvia to the Soviet Union of 21 July 1940, re-instituted the Constitution of Latvia of 1922, which was thereupon partly suspended, and set a period of transition to de facto independence, which would end upon the first session of Saeima. It also ruled that during the transitional period the Constitution of the Latvian SSR and other laws would remain applicable as long as they did not contradict articles 1, 2, 3 and 6 of the Constitution of Latvia, which were reinforced by the declaration. It was provided that a committee to elaborate a new edition of the Constitution of Latvia should be created. Social, economic, cultural and political rights were granted to citizens and residents of Latvia in accordance with international human rights. The declaration also stated that Latvia would form its relationship with the Soviet Union on the basis of the Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty of 1920, in which the Soviet Union had recognized the independence of Latvia as inviolable "for all future time". The 4th of May is a national holiday in Latvia. Read more...
Dievs, svētī Latviju! (Latvian pronunciation: [diɛu̯s svɛːtiː ˈlatviju]; "God Bless Latvia!") is the national anthem of Latvia. The words and music were written by Kārlis Baumanis (Baumaņu Kārlis, 1835–1905). Read more...
Latvian riflemen (Latvian: Latviešu strēlnieki, Russian: Латышские стрелки) were originally a military formation of the Imperial Russian Army assembled starting 1915 in Latvia in order to defend Baltic territories against Germans in World War I. Initially the battalions were formed by volunteers, and from 1916 by conscription among the Latvian population. A total of about 40,000 troops were drafted into the Latvian Riflemen Division. Read more...
The Constitution of Latvia (Latvian: Satversme) is the fundamental law of the Republic of Latvia. Satversme is the oldest Eastern or Central European constitution still in force and the sixth oldest still-functioning republican basic law in the world. It was adopted, as it states itself in the text, by the people of Latvia, in their freely elected Constitutional Assembly of Latvia on 15 February 1922 and came into force on 7 November 1922. It was heavily influenced by Germany's Weimar Constitution and the Swiss Federal Constitution. The constitution establishes the main bodies of government (Saeima, State President, Cabinet of Ministers, Courts, State Auditor); it consists of 115 articles arranged in eight chapters.
Although the initial text consisted of two parts, the second part - which regulated citizens' rights, freedoms and obligations - did not pass by a few votes; the chapter on fundamental human rights was added only by a constitutional amendment in 1998. Read more...
The Latvian National Armed Forces (Latvian: Nacionālie Bruņotie Spēki) are the armed forces of the Republic of Latvia. Latvia's defense concept is based on a mobile professional rapid response force and reserve segment that can be called upon relatively fast for mobilization should the need arise. The National Armed Forces consists of Land Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force and National Guard. Its main tasks are to protect the territory of the State; participate in international military operations; and to prevent threats to national security. Read more...
This article is about the demographic features of the population of the historical territory of Latvia, including population density, ethnic background, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Read more...- Administrative divisions of Latvia (valid since 1 July 2009). According to the Administrative territorial reform of Latvia, Latvia changed its administrative divisions from two-level municipalities (the districts were the first-level municipalities, while towns (cities), town's countryside territories and parishes were the second-level municipalities) to one-level municipalities - districts were liquidated, while towns/cities (Latvian: pilsētas, plural), town's countryside territories (Latvian: pilsētu lauku teritorijas, plural) and parishes (Latvian: pagasti, plural) were merged into 110 municipalities (Latvian: novadi, plural), with 9 metropolitan areas got the status of republican cities (Latvian: pilsētas, plural). (Latvian: republikas pilsētas) with their own city council and administration.
Municipalities are subdivided into territorial units (novada teritoriālās vienības): municipality parishes (novada pagasti) and municipality towns (novada pilsētas). Read more... - This is a list of political parties in Latvia. Latvia has a multi-party system, where no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. Read more...
Coat of arms of Republic of Latvia was officially adopted by the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia on July 15, 1921 and was in official use from August 19, 1921. It was created using new national symbols and older heraldic elements from Polish Livonia and Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. Thus the coat of arms combines symbols of Latvian national statehood, as well as symbols of its ancient historical districts. The Latvian national coat of arms was designed by the Latvian artist Rihards Zariņš. Read more...
Latvian pottery (Latvijas podniecība or Latvijas keramika), one of the country's oldest art forms, dates back to the Neolithic. Latgale pottery (Latgales podniecība) is the best-known subset of Latvian pottery. The eastern region of Latgale is the most prolific producer of wares.
As a rule, Latvian pottery is characterized by an absence of any painted-on patterns or designs, instead solid colors and gradients are used. Traditionally subdued, earthen hues (greens, browns, etc.) are used; however, artisans can be seen using brighter colors in their unique pieces. Mottled glaze and random artifacts (somewhat reminiscent of the Japanese Shino-yaki) are characteristic of Latvian pottery. Read more...
The Inflanty Voivodeship (Polish: Województwo inflanckie), or Livonian Voivodeship (Lithuanian: Livonijos vaivadija), also known as Polish Livonia, was an administrative division and local government in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, since it was formed in the 1620s out of the Wenden Voivodeship and lasted until the First Partition of Poland in 1772. The Inflanty Voivodeship was one of the few territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to be ruled jointly by Poland and Lithuania. Read more...- Illegal immigration in Latvia has traditionally been from neighboring countries such as Russia but now migrants also come from other areas such as Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa. The Latvian government have sought to work with Russia to stem the problem. The Latvian government has been criticized for its treatment of illegal immigrants.[neutrality is disputed]
For an immigrant not to become an illegal resident, a permit is required for a foreign national or a stateless person wishing to reside in the Republic of Latvia for more than 90 days within a 6-month period, thus if the person does not acquire himself a residence permit, he will be considered an illegal immigrant. Read more... - In the summer, daylight hours are long and in the winter short. In December it is still pitch dark at 9:00 A.M., and daylight disappears before 4:00 P.M. The climate is tempered by the Gulf Stream flowing across the Atlantic Ocean from Mexico. Average temperatures in winter are reasonably mild, ranging in January from −2.8 °C (27.0 °F) in Liepāja, on the western coast, to −6.6 °C (20.1 °F) in the southeastern town of Daugavpils. July temperatures range from 16.7 °C (62.1 °F) in Liepāja to 17.6 °C (63.7 °F) in Daugavpils. Latvia's proximity to the sea brings high levels of humidity and precipitation, with average annual precipitation of 633 millimeters (24.9 in) in Riga. There, an average of 180 days per year have precipitation, forty-four days have fog, and only seventy-two days are sunny. Continuous snow cover lasts eighty-two days, and the frost-free period lasts 177 days.
This precipitation has helped provide the abundant water for Latvia's many rivers and lakes, but it has created many problems as well. A large part of agricultural land requires drainage. Much money has been spent for land amelioration projects involving the installation of drainage pipes, the straightening and deepening of natural streams, the digging of drainage ditches, and the construction of polder dams. During the 1960s and 1970s, drainage work absorbed about one-third of all agricultural investments in Latvia. Although accounting for only one-third of 1% of the territory, Latvia was responsible for 11% of all artificially drained land in the former Soviet Union. Read more... - Education in Latvia is free and compulsory. Compulsory education includes two years of preschool education (usually starting at 5 years old) and a further nine years of elementary education (usually until 15/16 years of age).
In 1996, the gross primary enrolment rate was 95.8 percent, while the net primary enrollment rate was 89.5 percent. The number of children who do not attend primary school was increasing as of 2001. In rural areas, a number of schools have been closed. The place allocated to minority languages in secondary education was an issue of wide protests in 2003-2004 (see Russian School Defense Staff). Read more...
The President of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Valsts prezidents, literally "State President"), is head of state and commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces of the Republic of Latvia.
The term of office is four years. Before 1997, it was three years. He or she may be elected any number of times, but not more than twice in a row. In the event of the vacancy in the office of the President, the Speaker of the Saeima assumes the duties of the President. For example, after the death of Jānis Čakste the Speaker of the Saeima, Pauls Kalniņš, was acting president briefly in 1927, before a new President could be elected. Read more...
The Corded Ware culture (German: Schnurkeramik; French: céramique cordée; Dutch: touwbekercultuur) comprises a broad archaeological horizon of Europe between c. 2900 BCE – circa 2350 BCE, thus from the late Neolithic, through the Copper Age, and ending in the early Bronze Age. Corded Ware culture encompassed a vast area, from the Rhine on the west to the Volga in the east, occupying parts of Northern Europe, Central Europe and Eastern Europe.
According to Haak et al. (2017), the Corded Ware people were genetically closely related to the people of the Yamna culture (or Yamnaya), "documenting a massive migration into the heartland of Europe from its eastern periphery," the Eurasiatic steppes. The Corded Ware culture may have disseminated the Proto-Germanic and Proto-Balto-Slavic Indo-European languages. The Corded Ware Culture also shows genetic affinity with the later Sintashta culture, where the proto-Indo-Iranian language may have originated. Read more...
Meeting room of the Government of Latvia in the Palace of Justice
The Government of Latvia is the central government of the Republic of Latvia. The Constitution of Latvia (Satversme) outlines the nation as a parliamentary republic represented by a unicameral parliament (Saeima) and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republikas Ministru kabinets), which form the executive branch of the Government of Latvia. The Latvian Government primarily consists of ethnic Latvians, representatives of minorities, such as ethnic Russians, Ukrainians or Byelorussians, do not participate in the decision-making at the executive level.
Since the early 2000s cabinet meetings in Latvia have been open to the public. In June 2013, the Latvian government became one of the first in Europe to offer live internet broadcasts of cabinet meetings. Read more...- The 2008 Latvian financial crisis, which stemmed from the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, was a major economic and political crisis in Latvia. The crisis was generated when an easy credit market burst, resulting in an unemployment crisis, along with the bankruptcy of many companies. Since 2010, economic activity has recovered and Latvia's economic growth rate was the fastest among the EU member states in the first three quarters of 2012. Read more...
Swedish Livonia (Swedish: Svenska Livland) was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1629 until 1721. The territory, which constituted the southern part of modern Estonia (including the island of Ösel ceded by Denmark after the Treaty of Brömsebro) and the northern part of modern Latvia (the Vidzeme region), represented the conquest of the major part of the Polish-Lithuanian Duchy of Livonia during the 1600–1629 Polish-Swedish War. Parts of Livonia and the city of Riga were under Swedish control as early as 1621 and the situation was formalized in Truce of Altmark 1629, but the whole territory was not ceded formally until the Treaty of Oliva in 1660. The minority part of the Wenden Voivodeship retained by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was renamed the Inflanty Voivodeship ("Livonian Principality"), which today corresponds to the Latgale region of Latvia.
Riga was the second largest city in the Swedish Empire at the time. Together with other Baltic Sea dominions, Livonia served to secure the Swedish dominium maris baltici. In contrast to Swedish Estonia, which had submitted to Swedish rule voluntarily in 1561 and where traditional local laws remained largely untouched, the uniformity policy was applied in Swedish Livonia under Karl XI of Sweden: serfdom was abolished, peasants were offered education as well as military, administrative or ecclesiastical careers, and nobles had to transfer domains to the king in the Great Reduction. Read more...- Telecommunications in Latvia include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet. Read more...
The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers, according to the European Court of Human Rights, the Government of Latvia, the United States Department of State, and the European Union, to the military occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union ostensibly under the provisions of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany.
When World War II started in September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, Latvia had already come under the Soviet sphere of influence in the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and its Secret Additional Protocol of August 1939. Read more...
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR; Latvian: Latvijas Padomju Sociālistiskā Republika; Russian: Латвийская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Latviyskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika), also known as Soviet Latvia or Latvia, was a republic of the Soviet Union.
It was established on 21 July 1940, during World War II, as a Soviet puppet state in the territory of the previously independent Republic of Latvia after it had been occupied on June 17, 1940 by the Soviet Army, in conformity with the terms of the 23 August 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Read more...
Cinema of Latvia dates back to 1910 when the first short films were made. The first cinematic screening in Riga took place on May 28, 1896. By 1914 all major cities in Latvia had cinemas where newsreels, documentaries and mostly foreign made short films were screened.
Two years after cinema was invented by Lumiere brothers, on 22 January 1898 Sergei Eisenstein was born in Riga. Read more...
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Latvia face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Latvia, but households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Same-sex couples are unable to marry or adopt. Latvia does not recognise registered partnerships.
The democratization process in Latvia has allowed lesbians and gays to establish organizations and infrastructural elements such as bars, clubs, stores, libraries, etc. Cultural, educational and other events can be held. However, society has not yet reached a high level of tolerance. In November 2014, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs came out via Twitter, becoming the first openly LGBT elected official in the country. Read more...
Exhibit presented at the Wannsee (Holocaust planning) Conference on January 20, 1942, showing only 3,500 Jews left alive in Latvia of about 60,000 in the country at the time of the Nazi takeover.
The Holocaust in Latvia refers to the war crimes of Nazis and Nazi collaborators victimizing Jews during the occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany. Read more...- Latvia is net energy importer.
Primary energy use in Latvia was 49 TWh, or 22 TWh per million persons in 2009. Read more... - Kunda Culture, originating from the Swiderian culture, comprised mesolithic hunter-gatherer communities of the Baltic forest zone extending eastwards through Latvia into northern Russia, dating to the period 8500–5000 BC according to calibrated radiocarbon dating. It is named after the Estonian town of Kunda, about 110 kilometres (70 mi) east of Tallinn along the Gulf of Finland, near where the first extensively studied settlement was discovered on Lammasmäe Hill and in the surrounding peat bog. The oldest known Kunda culture settlement in Estonia is Pulli. The Kunda Culture was succeeded by the Narva culture, who used pottery and showed some traces of food production. Read more...
- In 1990, Latvia had 2,567,000 hectares of agricultural land—32 percent less than in 1935. More than 1 million hectares of agricultural land, much of it abandoned, were converted to forest under Soviet rule. Of its nearly 1.7 million hectares of arable land, about one-half was used for growing fodder crops: more than 40 percent for grain, 5 percent for potatoes, and approximately 2 percent for flax and sugar beets together. Read more...
- Sports in Latvia include association football, ice hockey, basketball, athletics, rugby, tennis, cycling, and others. Association hockey is historically the most popular of the Latvian sports and is closely followed by basketball. Some of Latvia’s most notable athletes include hockey player Sandis Ozoliņš, football player Māris Verpakovskis, olympic javelin thrower Jānis Lūsis, two-time Olympic BMX champion Maris Strombergs, and basketball player Kristaps Porziņģis. Read more...
- Latvian literature began in a significant way in the 19th century. Read more...
The Kingdom of Livonia was a nominal state in what is now the territory of Estonia and Latvia. The Russian Tsar Ivan IV declared the establishment of the kingdom during the Livonian War of 1558-1583, but it never functioned properly as a polity. On June 10, 1570 the Danish Duke Magnus of Holstein arrived in Moscow, where he was crowned King of Livonia. Magnus took the oath of allegiance to Ivan as his overlord and received from him the corresponding charter for the vassal kingdom of Livonia in what Ivan termed his patrimony. The treaty between Magnus and Ivan IV was signed by an oprichnik and by a member of the zemskii administration, the d'iak Vasiliy Shchelkalov. The territories of the prospective new kingdom still had to be conquered, but nevertheless Põltsamaa Castle was proclaimed the future official residence of the king. The new king Magnus of Livonia departed from Moscow with 20,000 Russian soldiers for the conquest of Swedish-controlled Reval. Ivan's hope for the support of King Frederick II of Denmark, the older brother of Magnus, failed. By the end of March 1571 Magnus gave up the struggle for Reval and abandoned the siege.
In 1577, having lost Ivan's favor and getting no support from his brother, Magnus called on the Livonian nobility to rally to him in a struggle against foreign occupation. Ivan's forces attacked him and took him prisoner. On his release he renounced his royal title. Magnus spent the last six years of his life at the castle of Pilten in the Bishopric of Courland where he died (March 1583) as a pensioner of the Polish crown.
The end of the Livonian War in August 1583 saw most of the territory of Old Livonia (Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and Duchy of Livonia) under the control of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, with Swedish control established in the Duchy of Estonia. Read more...- Latvian names, like in most European cultures, consist of two main elements: the given name (vārds) followed by family name (uzvārds). During the Soviet occupation (1940 - 1991) the practice of giving a middle name was discouraged, but since the restoration of Independence Latvian legislation again allows giving of up to two given names and it has become more common to give a middle name to children.
Latvian male names end in 1st or 2nd declension masculine endings, either -s/-š or -is (with a handful of mostly foreign exceptions ending in indeclinable -o, such as Ivo, Raivo, Gvido, Bruno, Oto and only a couple belonging to the 3rd declension ending in -us, such as Ingus, Mikus, Edžus, Zemgus.) Latvian female names have the feminine 4th or 5th declension endings -a or -e respectively. Read more... - The Latvian War of Independence (Latvian: Latvijas brīvības cīņas, literally, "Latvia's freedom struggles"), sometimes called the Latvian War of Liberation (Latvian: Latvijas atbrīvošanas karš, "War of Latvian Liberation"), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invaded by Soviet Russia, and the signing of the Latvian-Soviet Riga Peace Treaty on 11 August 1920.
The war can be divided into a few stages: Soviet offensive, German-Latvian liberation of Kurzeme and Riga, Estonian-Latvian liberation of Vidzeme, Bermontian offensive, Latvian-Polish liberation of Latgale. Read more...
The Prime Minister of Latvia (Latvian: Ministru prezidents) is the most powerful member of the Government of Latvia, and presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. The Prime Minister is nominated by the President of Latvia, but must be able to obtain the support of a majority of the Saeima (parliament).
The tables below display all Latvian Prime Ministers from both the first period of Latvian independence (1918–1940) and since the country regained its independence (1990–present). From 1990 to 6 July 1993, the office was known as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, but is generally considered to have been the same role. Read more...
Narva culture or eastern Baltic (c. 5300 to 1750 BC) was a European Neolithic archaeological culture found in present-day Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kaliningrad Oblast (former East Prussia), and adjacent portions of Poland, Belarus and Russia. A successor of the Mesolithic Kunda culture, Narva culture continued up to the start of the Bronze Age. The technology was that of hunter-gatherers. The culture was named after the Narva River in Estonia. Read more...- Latvia elects on national level a legislature. The Saeima has 100 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation with a 5% threshold. An unmodified Sainte-Laguë method is used to allocate seats. The parliamentary elections are held on the first Saturday of October. Locally, Latvia elects municipal councils, consisting of 7 to 60 members, depending on the size of the municipality, also by proportional representation for a four-year term.
Latvia has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. Read more... - Latvian cuisine typically consists of agricultural products, with meat featuring in most main meal dishes. Fish is commonly consumed due to Latvia's location on the east coast of the Baltic Sea.
Latvian cuisine has been influenced by other countries of the Baltic rim. Common ingredients in Latvian recipes are found locally, such as potatoes, wheat, barley, cabbage, onions, eggs and pork. The Latvian cuisine is markedly seasonal - due to pronounced four seasons in the climate of Latvia, each time of the year has its own distinctive products, tastes and flavors. Latvian food is generally quite fatty, and uses few spices. Read more... - Latvian mythology is set of paganic beliefs of Latvian people reconstructed from written evidence and folklore materials. Read more...
The main religion traditionally practiced in Latvia is Christianity. , it is the largest religion (80%), though only about 7% of the population attends religious services regularly. Lutheranism is the main Christian denomination among ethnic Latvians due to strong historical links with the Nordic countries and Northern Germany (see Hanseatic League), while Catholicism is most prevalent in Eastern Latvia (Latgale), mostly due to Polish influence. The Latvian Orthodox Church is the third largest Christian church in Latvia, with adherents primarily among the Russian-speaking minority.
In a survey from 2015, the ISSP found that 62.6% of the Latvian population declared to belong to a Christian denomination, divided in 19.7% Russian Orthodox, 18.5% Roman Catholic, 17.8% Protestant, 6.1% Old Believers and 0.5% belonged to smaller christian denominations. A further 36.7% declared to have No Religion and 0.7% declared to belong to an other religion. In the same year the Eurobarometer survey by the European Commission found different results, with 76.7% of the Latvians regarding themselves as Christians, divided in 26.2% Catholics 24.0% Eastern Orthodox, 16.6% Protestants, and 9.9% other Christians. The unaffiliated people made up the 22.0% of the respondents and were divided in Atheists with 4.7% and Agnostics with 17.3%. Read more...
Historic postcard view of the Riga Stock Exchange building in the very centre of Old Riga
The Riga Stock Exchange, now Nasdaq Riga, is the sole stock exchange operating in Riga, Latvia. It is owned by Nasdaq, which also operates exchanges in the USA, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Armenia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Established in 1993.
Riga Stock Exchange, together with Vilnius Stock Exchange and Tallinn Stock Exchange is part of the joint Baltic market that was established to minimize investing barriers between Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian markets. Read more...
The First Latvian National Awakening or the First Awakening (Pirmā Atmoda) was a cultural and national revival movement between 1850 and 1880 among a group of well-educated Latvians, Jaunlatvieši (Young Latvians), who, opposed to the Baltic German dominance in Livonia and Courland Governorates, created the basis for the modern Latvian nation state. It was influenced by the European romantic nationalism movements of Young Germans and Czech National Revival. Most of their efforts were spent on educating Latvians, criticizing Germans and removing the stigma from Latvian language, traditions and culture.
The movement started after 1850 in the University of Tartu, which then was the highest place of education in Livonian Governorate and was attended by around 30 ethnic Latvian students. Krišjānis Valdemārs, a student from Courland, posted in his dorm room a note identifying himself as a Latvian, which was unheard of at the time. Very soon a group of 10-13 students grew around him; they organized “Latvian evenings”, during which they debated about the condition of German-oppressed Latvians. Juris Alunāns and Krišjānis Barons soon became leading members. Read more...
The national flag of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas karogs) was used by independent Latvia from 1918 until the country was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Its use was suppressed during Soviet rule. Shortly before regaining its independence, Latvia re-adopted on 27 February 1990 the same red-white-red flag.
Though officially adopted in 1923, the Latvian flag was in use as early as the 13th century. The red colour is sometimes described as symbolizing the readiness of the Latvians to give the blood from their hearts for freedom and their willingness to defend their liberty. An alternative interpretation, according to one legend, is that a Latvian leader was wounded in battle, and the edges of the white sheet in which he was wrapped were stained by his blood. The white stripe may stand for the sheet that wrapped him. This story is similar to the legend of the origins of the flag of Austria. Read more...
Latvian (Latviešu valoda [ˈlatviɛʃu ˈvaluɔda])[tones?] is a Baltic language spoken in the Baltic region. It is the language of Latvians and the official language of Latvia as well as one of the official languages of the European Union. It is sometimes known in English as Lettish, and cognates of the word remain the most commonly used name for the Latvian language in Germanic languages other than English. There are about 1.3 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and 100,000 abroad. Altogether, 2 million, or 80% of the population of Latvia, speak Latvian. Of those, 1.16 million or 56% use it as their primary language at home. The use of the Latvian language in various areas of social life in Latvia is increasing.
As a Baltic language, Latvian is most closely related to neighboring Lithuanian. In addition, there is some disagreement whether Latgalian and Kursenieki, which are mutually intelligible with Latvian, should be considered varieties or separate languages. Read more...
There are six statistical regions in Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas statistiskie reģioni) are Kurzeme, Latgale, Pieriga, Riga, Vidzeme and Zemgale.
Statistical regions were established according to the main principles set out in the Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) (hereinafter NUTS Regulation), further amended. This NUTS Regulation directly concerns all Member States of the European Union and from 1 May 2004 it is also binding upon Latvia. Read more...
The occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany was completed on July 10, 1941 by Germany's armed forces. Latvia became a part of Nazi Germany's Reichskommissariat Ostland—the Province General of Latvia (German: Generalbezirk Lettland). Anyone not racially acceptable or who opposed the German occupation, as well as those who had cooperated with the Soviet Union, were killed or sent to concentration camps in accordance with the Nazi Generalplan Ost. Read more...
Soon after reinstating independence, Latvia, which had been a member of the League of Nations prior to World War II, became a member of the United Nations. In 1992, Latvia became eligible for the International Monetary Fund and in 1994 took part in the NATO Partnership for Peace program in addition to signing the free trade agreement with the European Union. Latvia became a member of the European Council as well as a candidate for the membership in the European Union and NATO. Latvia was the first of the three Baltic nations to be accepted into the World Trade Organization.
At the end of 1999 in Helsinki, the heads of the European Union governments invited Latvia to begin negotiations regarding accession to the European Union. In 2004, Latvia's most important foreign policy goals, membership of the European Union and NATO, were fulfilled. On April 2, Latvia became a member of NATO and on May 1, Latvia, along with the other two Baltic States, became a member of the European Union. Around 67% had voted in favor of EU membership in a September 2003 referendum with turnout at 72.5%. Read more...
Terra Mariana (Medieval Latin for "Land of Mary") was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia (German: Alt-Livland, Estonian: Vana-Liivimaa, Latvian: Livonija), which was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade in the territories comprising present day Estonia and Latvia. It was established on 2 February 1207, as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire but lost this status in 1215 when proclaimed by Pope Innocent III as directly subject to the Holy See.
Terra Mariana was divided into feudal principalities by Papal Legate William of Modena:- Duchy of Estonia (Dominum directum to the King of Denmark)
- Archbishopric of Riga
- Bishopric of Courland
- Bishopric of Dorpat
- Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek
- Military administration of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword
Did you know...
- ... that when the Latvian town of Talsi became part of the Russian Empire, sixty percent of its population was Baltic German?
- ... that while working on her graduate degree in chemistry, Emīlija Gudriniece won the Latvian Women's Motorcycle Championship in 1949, and then won it again in 1953?
- ... that Mārtiņš Nukša, an architect and a diplomat, was sentenced to death and killed during the Soviet occupation of Latvia?
- ... that Latvian-born Lazar Bach became chair of the Communist Party of South Africa, but died in a Gulag?
- ... that everyone eligible to receive the Commemorative Medal for Participants of the Barricades of 1991 from Latvia has already received one?
- ... that the workshop of August Volz supplied decorations for the Latvian National Opera, Latvian National Theatre, Latvian National Museum of Art, and Art Academy of Latvia?
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Selected images
Latvian-Jewish women and children photographed before being murdered at Liepaja in December 1941.
Devonian sandstone cliffs in Gauja National Park, Latvia's largest and oldest national park
Historic Centre of Riga was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
Reconstruction of a Gulag shack in the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, Riga
An airBaltic Boeing 757−200WL takes off at Riga International Airport (RIX)
Venta Rapid in Kuldīga is the widest waterfall in Europe and a natural monument of Latvia.
Turaida Castle near Sigulda, built in 1214 under Albert of Riga
Latvia became a member of the European Union in 2004 and signed the Lisbon Treaty in 2007.
The building of the Saeima, the parliament of Latvia, in Riga
Choirs performing during the 24th Latvian Song and Dance Festival in 2008
Ķemeri National Park is home to mires, natural mineral-springs, muds and lakes that are former lagoons of the Littorina Sea.
Slītere National Park at Cape Kolka includes several Livonian fishing villages of the Livonian Coast. (Livonian: Līvõd Rānda)
Latvia lies in Northern Europe, on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea.
Terra Mariana, medieval Livonia
Latvia is part of the EU single market (dark grey), Eurozone (dark blue) and Schengen Area (not shown).
The Port of Ventspils is one of the busiest ports in the Baltic states.
Arena Riga during the 2006 IIHF World Championship
The white wagtail is the national bird of Latvia.
The Swedish Empire (1560–1815).
Riga became the capital of Swedish Livonia and the largest city in the Swedish Empire.In 1282, Riga became a member of the Hanseatic League.
Historical regions: orange Courland, green Semigallia, brown Selonia, yellow Vidzeme, blue Latgale
In the news
- 6 October 2018 – Latvian parliamentary election, 2018
- Voters in Latvia go to the polls to vote for a new parliament. The governing coalition loses its majority with two new parties Who owns the state? and the New Conservative Party becoming the second and third biggest parties behind Social Democratic Party "Harmony". (Deutsche Welle), (Reuters)
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