Sveiks! Hello!
Latvia. One of the three Baltic states, bounded by Estonia, Russia, Belarus, and Lithuania, domain of lush forests and river valleys, sandy coastlines, and medieval architecture. Home to Latvians for 4,000 years.
The Northern Crusades, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Poland-Lithuania, France, and Russia have all swept over Latvia. Latvia's history is a microcosm of Europe's.
Latvians are as proud of their traditions — summer solstice bonfires, song festivals, and folk costumes — as their innovations: the Minox "spy" camera, Blue microphones, MikroTik network routers on SpaceX rockets — even mozzarella mass production and Pringles.
Writer, journalist and playwright Rudolfs Blaumanis (1863-1908) captures our love of Latvia and pride in our heritage.
Welcome to our chronicle of four millennia of history and culture along the eastern Baltic Sea.
- Explore our timeline of Latvian history and our digital library of contemporaneous historical accounts, albums, and materials on arts and culture.
- Browse our photos, travelogues, and perspectives of our travels to Latvia.
- Learn about the refugee and exile experiences of Latvians scattered to the winds after WWII.
- Stay up-to-date with the latest Baltic news, five-day Rīga, Tallinn, and Vilnius weather forecast, and on regional and post-Soviet issues with our blog.
- Keep up with Baltic-related Kremlin media. For more Kremlin insights, explore our collection of Soviet propaganda from the 1930's and Stalin through the Cold War.
Also visit other Latvia-related sites we author or curate!
- aizsargi.orgAbout the 1919-1940 national guard
- latvianlegion.orgHistory, media analysis, and the Cold War hunt for Latvian "Nazis"
- zedelgem-pow-camp.beBritish-run POW camp holding Latvian Legionnaires after WWII
- holocaustinlatvia.orgOfficial site of Prof. Andrew Ezergailis's scholarship
- academia.eduOur papers and reviews