Latvia, to me, has always conjured up images of
cold, snowy woods with struggling families bundled up sitting close to preserve
heat, drinking hot chocolate laced with booze. In July. (Just kidding. It’s probably in May.)
All I know is that my husband tried to find a set of headlight covers for my
Mitsubishi Outlander, and the cheapest ones we could find were in Latvia, and
they weren’t cheap.
The country of Latvia is named after the
Latgalians, one of the original Baltic tribes who inhabited the area. The name
for this country in other languages is usually some derivative of Latonia or
Lettland, which is based on the original word Latgalian.
Located in northeastern Europe, Latvia is
surrounded by Estonia to the north, Russia to the east, Belarus to the
southeast, and Lithuania to the south. It also has a fairly long coastline
along the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga. Roughly half the area of Latvia is
forested land—in fact, there is still much of these lands (including wetlands, lakes,
and rivers) that are untouched. And subsequently, Latvia is one of the world’s
most environmentally friendly countries.
This country also enjoys a temperate climate albeit
cold in the winters. However, the winters can be slightly milder closer to the
coast and harsher the farther inland you go. The summers are still not quite as
warm in Latvia: the average July temperatures are only about 67ºF. But they do
experience four distinct seasons, each about the same length.
There were several Baltic tribes, including the
Latgalians and the Livonians, who were settled in this area as early as 3000
BCE. During the Medieval period, the city of Riga became an important port city
and trading center. The three centuries after the Medieval Era was a period in
Latvia’s history that saw many changes. Livonia at that time encompassed the
modern-day countries of Estonia and Latvia, and they later succumbed to Polish
and Lithuanian rule. Later on, Sweden entered into the fight for this area and
won: it became known as Swedish Livonia. As German influence began to
infiltrate their culture, Lutheranism spread as well. The 19th
century brought changes to Latvia’s social structure in the form of land reform
as well as movements to promote a Latvian nationalism against Polish, Russian,
and German social and political influence. However, Latvia became swept into
the Russian expansion. At the same time, they did see a gain in its economy and
infrastructure with the building of ports, banks, factories, schools, parks,
streets, museums, theatres, and railway. Latvia remained under Russian control throughout
WWI; after the war, they fought for their own independence and won. However,
they were again part of the Soviet Union during WWII and immediately invaded
Poland. Nazi Germany invaded Latvia to fight the Russians, and by the end of
WWII, tens of thousands of Latvians had been killed. Even after the end of the
war, Latvia remained under Soviet control; nationalists were shipped out to
Siberia and the rest were forced into collective farms. When Russia broke apart
in 1991, Latvia was once more its own country. Those who were citizens (and
their descendents) before 1940 were granted citizenship again. However, those
who arrived during the Soviet years (including many former Russian nationals)
were not granted the same citizenship status. They were, however, able to
naturalize in and become citizens later, but there are still many non-citizens
still living in Latvia. The country did join the European Union and has become a
cultural capital of Europe.
The capital city is Riga, the largest city in the
country. It’s a port city located on the Gulf of Riga just at the mouth of the
Daugava River, which runs through Latvia, Belarus, and Russia. The city itself
was founded in 1201, and parts of its old city center are considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Riga has been the host of several international music, film,
sports, cultural, and governmental events. In the eight centuries it’s been a
city, Riga has been under control of 12 different governments. Riga is also the
center of government, housing an international airport and public transit,
museums, universities, parks, theatres, and stadiums. Riga is renowned for its
architecture, especially art nouveau buildings.
Latvia had a fairly growing economy until the
global economic crisis of 2008 proved too much. Rising housing costs was one
reason their economic bubble burst and soon their unemployment rose to nearly
22%—the highest in the EU. Latvia’s economy is fueled by transportation and
transit of goods. The three main ports of Riga, Ventspils, and Liepaja are some
of the busiest ports in Europe. Latvia deals with the transport of crude oil
and its products, but also deals with hydroelectric power and is also the
location of one of the largest underground gas storage facilities in Europe.
Most people here speak Latvian, the country’s
official language. Latvian is one of the Baltic languages, related to
Lithuanian. The Livonian language is nearly extinct and is protected by law along
with Latgalian, which has become a dialect of modern Latvian. There are still a
number of Russian speakers in Latvia. All schools use Latvian as the language
for education, but they also teach English (which is widely understood and used
in business and in touristy spots) and either German or Russian.
By far, the vast majority of Latvians are
Christian. And more specifically, Lutheranism is the largest denomination,
followed by Roman Catholicism and Russian Orthodox. There are also a smaller
number of Latvians who practice a type of paganism called Dievturi, which is stemmed
from Latvian mythology. Latvia also has a significant number of people who
don’t practice any particular religion at all.
Latvians have made some very important discoveries
and inventions that have helped shape the course of the world. For example,
Latvian scientist Juris Upatnieks invented 3D holography. (Star Wars has everything to thank for this.) And one Latvian tailor
invented a type of material you’re probably wearing right now: Jakobs Jufess
came up with jeans (Levi Strauss was the one who supported his invention
financially). Although they didn’t invent ice hockey (that is widely attributed
to England or Scotland), Latvia is also one of three countries where ice hockey
is the most popular sport (the other two are Finland and Canada—I would’ve
thought there’d be more). Their culture overall is similar to Lithuania and
other areas in the region, and I’m very excited to try the Latvian recipes I
picked out.
Up next: art and literature
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