LATVIA

RIGA THE CAPITAL

RIGA'S TOWN CENTRE

Latvia was under communist rules and suffered under Stalin in power. At long last in 1991 they received independence and now trying hard to build the country up.

Latvia borders on Estonia and has the Gulf of Riga in the north. On the southern border is Lithuania. On the east border is Russia and Belarus. The western coast is the Baltic Sea. Latvia has four geographical regions – Kurzeme, Zemgale, Vidzene and Latgale.

KURZEME

This region is in the far west and has its coast line on the Baltic Sea.  The northern part is hilly with fertile valleys and has fertile farms. The resort of Jurmala is at the base of the Gulf of Riga and is picturesque with its sandy beaches and pine forests.

ZEMGALE

The region is flat and lies on the eastern side of Kurzeme. It is the country’s major agricultural area. It has a very fertile soil and the river Lielupe flows through it. In the south is a National Park surrounding the town of Terveten. Further to the east is a fast plain with evergreen forests and marshes.

BALTIC SEA AND 
THE RIVER LIELUPE 
FLOWING INTO IT

LATGALE

This region is in the south-east of the country. This area has many lakes and most of them connected by rivers or streams.  It is a large waterway system. Latvia’s largest lake, Rezna, and the deepest, Lake Dridzis, are in this area.

VIDZEME

The Vidzeme region has beautiful alpine scenery. It is in the north-east of Latvia.  The mountainous range reaches a height of 300m. The northern part to this region is on a sandstone plateau with a large plain around. The moraine hill’s ridges and rifts on the plains were created by glaciers of the Ice Age.  This area has also many rivers, lakes, forests of birch, spruce and pine.

LATVIA HAS 40 PER CENT 
COVERED WITH FORESTS 
  THE 4TH LARGEST FORES
 IN EUROPE

Latvia’s largest river is the Daugave.  It flows from the south-eastern tip of Latgate, through Riga and into the Gulf of Riga.

KEMERI NATIONAL PARK
 HAS MINERAL SPRINGS
 AND LAKES WHICH WERE
 FORMER LAGOONS

Due to the variation of Latvia’s landscape the country has a great wildlife as well as a great variety.  There are swamp turtles, red deer, elk, tree frogs and wild boars. Large mammals like wolves, lynx and brown bears do exists but not numerous. Latvia has 40 per cent covered with forests. Inland are various evergreen but on the costal area are tall pines. 

BOATING IN THE
 WILD OF LATVIA 

The climate is in summer 17oC in Riga. Due to the high latitude the summer days are long and the sun won’t set till 11pm. Winter temperatures are around -7C.

CASTLE TURAIDA 
BUILT IN 1214 

POPULATION

The native Latvians has been reduced very much by wars and Russian’s deportation, also emigration. As a result in most cities the Latvians are in a minority. During Russian occupations thousand immigrated to Latvia from all over Russia who stayed there after the country became independent. The main religion is today Lutheran Protestants and other groups are Catholics some Jews, Baptists and Russian Orthodox.  The official language is Latvian.  Latvian and Lithuanian are the only two Baltic languages still spoken.

The Industry was developed during the Russian rules and masterminded to suit the Russian internal market.  Latvia relied almost completely on Russia’s raw materials and labour. After independence it has to be re-structured. The new industry is electronics, furniture, perfumes and manufacture of minibuses and trams. Forestry is also an important part of the country’s economics. Latvia introduced its own currency and is called lat.

Feeling of a national identity started to spread at the beginning of the 20^th century. Germany occupied Kurzeme during the World War 1. This encouraged the people to have a sense of a national identity. In 1918 Latvia declare the country independent.  Like its neighbour Estonia they too had to fight the Baltic Germans and the Bolshevik Russians.  The country became independent in 1920 and it lasted 20 years. During the World War 2 the Soviet marched in again in Latvia. Then the Nazis marched in and occupied it for four years. In 1944 the Red Army returned and under Stalin’s order many thousands of nationalists were deported, never to be seen again. It was a fully fledged Russian republic for five decades. In August 1991 with the radical changes of Russian politics Latvia managed to be free and independent again.

COUNTRY SCENERY

HOLIDAYS

Taking a holiday there will be a big different as you can see on the picture but it will nevertheless be enjoyable. The country has a lot to over with Riga the capital which has a lot of interesting monuments from it s history. The country sceneries have such a variation. The huge forests with its wildlife. The rivers and lakes to swim and boating on it. Various National Parks were you can enjoy wildlife and beautiful country sceneries.