About Latvia
Latvia 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 to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, and Belarus to the southeast, and shares 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 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 (Courland Pocket in 1945) to form the Latvian SSR for the next 45 years.
History
Around 3000 BC, the proto-Baltic ancestors of the Latvian people settled on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The Balts established trade routes to Rome and Byzantium, trading local amber for precious metals. By 900 AD, four distinct Baltic tribes inhabited Latvia: Curonians, Latgalians, Selonians, Semigallians (in Latvian: kurši, latgaļi, sēļi and zemgaļi), as well as the Finnic tribe of Livonians (lībieši) speaking a Finnic language.
Culture
Traditional Latvian folklore, especially the dance of the folk songs, dates back well over a thousand years. More than 1.2 million texts and 30,000 melodies of folk songs have been identified.
Between the 13th and 19th centuries, Baltic Germans, many of whom were originally of non-German ancestry but had been assimilated into German culture, formed the upper class.citation needed] They developed distinct cultural heritage, characterised by both Latvian and German influences. It has survived in German Baltic families to this day, in spite of their dispersal to Germany, the United States, Canada and other countries in the early 20th century. However, most indigenous Latvians did not participate in this particular cultural life.[citation needed] Thus, the mostly peasant local pagan heritage was preserved, partly merging with Christian traditions. For example, one of the most popular celebrations is Jāņi, a pagan celebration of the summer solstice—which Latvians celebrate on the feast day of St. John the Baptist.[citation needed]
Historic Centre of Riga was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
In the 19th century, Latvian nationalist movements emerged. They promoted Latvian culture and encouraged Latvians to take part in cultural activities. The 19th century and beginning of the 20th century is often regarded by Latvians as a classical era of Latvian culture. Posters show the influence of other European cultures, for example, works of artists such as the Baltic-German artist Bernhard Borchert and the French Raoul Dufy.[citation needed] With the onset of World War II, many Latvian artists and other members of the cultural elite fled the country yet continued to produce their work, largely for a Latvian émigré audience.
Education
University of Latvia and Riga Technical University are two major universities in the country, both established on the basis of Riga Polytechnical Institute and located in Riga.Another two important universities, which were established on the base of State University of Latvia, are Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (established in 1939 on the basis of the Faculty of Agriculture) and Riga Stradiņš University (established in 1950 on the basis of the Faculty of Medicine) – both nowadays cover a variety of different fields. The University of Daugavpils is another significant centre of education. Latvia closed 131 schools between 2006 and 2010, which is a 12.9% decline, and in the same period enrolment in educational institutions has fallen by over 54,000 people, a 10.3% decline.
The Latvian policy of science and technology set out the long term goal – transition from labor-consuming economy to knowledge-based economy. By 2020 the government aims at a 1.5% GDP funding for research and development, with half of the investments coming from the private sector. Latvia develop their scientific potential on the basis of the existing scientific traditions, particularly in organic chemistry, medical chemistry, genetic engineering, physics, materials science and information technologies. The highest number of inventions, which are patented both nationwide and abroad, are made in the branch of medical chemistry.
Climate
Latvia has a temperate climate that has been described in various sources as either humid continental (Köppen Dfb) or oceanic/maritime (Köppen Cfb).Coastal regions, especially the western coast of Courland Peninsula, possess a more maritime climate with cooler summers and milder winters, while eastern parts exhibit a more continental climate with warmer summers and harsher winters.
Latvia has four pronounced seasons of near-equal length. Winter starts in mid-December and lasts until mid-March. Winters have average temperatures of −6 °C (21 °F) and are characterized by stable snow cover, bright sunshine, and short days. Severe spells of winter weather with cold winds, extreme temperatures of around −30 °C (−22 °F) and heavy snowfalls are common. Summer starts in June and lasts until August. Summers are usually warm and sunny, with cool evenings and nights. Summers have average temperatures of around 19 °C (66 °F), with extremes of 35 °C (95 °F). Spring and autumn bring fairly mild weather.
Language
The sole official language of Latvia is Latvian, which belongs to the Baltic language sub-group of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family. Another notable language of Latvia is the nearly extinct Livonian language of the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family, which enjoys protection by law; Latgalian – referred to as either a dialect or a distinct separate language of Latvian – is also formally protected by Latvian law but only as a historical variation of the Latvian language. Russian, which was widely spoken during the Soviet period, is still the most widely used minority language by far (in 2011, 34% spoke it at home, including people who were not ethnically Russian) While it is now required that all school students learn Latvian, most schools also include English, Russian and German in their curricula. English and Russian are also widely accepted in Latvia, especially in business and tourism. As of 2014 there were 109 schools for minorities that use Russian as the language of instruction for 40% of subjects (the remaining 60% of subjects are taught in Latvian).
Safety
Latvia is generally safe to travel to, and petty crime is relatively low although it exists. Pickpocketing is mostly common in larger cities and some of the most notorious locations for this crime are Vecriga (Riga’s Old Town), Dzelzcela Stacija (central train station), the Autoosta (central bus station) and Centraltirgus (central market). Another issue to bear in mind is that bicycle theft is also common so make sure to lock your bicycle before walking away, even if it’s the smallest distance from your vehicle.
As other Baltic countries, bear in mind that traffic isn’t the safest. Latvia is filled with reckless drivers and some roads are very unsafe, which is why accident rate in Latvia is very high. Be careful when crossing the road and especially mind the forest roads since collisions with wildlife animals can easily occur.
Famous Places
1) Riga
2) Gauja National Park
3) Jurmala, Kuldiga
4) Rundale Palace and Museum
5) Turaida Museum Reserve,
6) Cesis,Liepaja, Latgale, Ventspils
Industries
The key element in play is the privatisation of industries that were once socialised. The Latvian government has pursued an aggressive policy of divesting itself of state-run monopolies in all quarters of Latvian industry, and this dynamism has had a great deal of impact on the Latvian economy and thus the culture as a whole. Ninety-eight percent of state-owned companies had been sold into private hands by 2002, in fact, and today only the most massive and most relief-upon industries, such as Lasco (shipping) and Latvanergo (utilities) remain in government hands.
Universities
1) University of Daugavpils
2) Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies
3) Riga Stradiņš University (formerly Medical Academy of Latvia)
4) Riga Technical University
5) University of Latvia
6) University of Liepāja
Colleges
1) Latvian Academy of Art
2) BA School of Business and Finance (formerly the Banking College under the Bank of Latvia)
3) Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (formerly the Latvian Conservatory)
4) Latvian Academy of Culture (lv)
5) Latvian Academy of Sport Education
6) Latvian Maritime Academy
7) National Defence Academy of Latvia
8) Rēzekne Academy of Technology
9) Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management
10) Academy (lv) (merged into University of Latvia from 2017)
11) Ventspils University College
12) Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences