Latvia

• The capital of Latvia is Riga and is the largest city in Latvia.

• The population of Latvia is 2217053• The countries boarding Latvia are Estonia (north),

Lithuania (south) and Russia (east).• The currency of Latvia is lats

Major citiesTHESE ARE THE THREE BIGGEST CITIES IN Latvia.

• RIGA is the capital and largest city of Latvia With 650,468 inhabitants. Riga began to develop as a centre of Viking trade during the early middle ages. Riga's inhabitants occupied themselves mainly with fishing, animas husbandry, and trading.

DAUGAVPILS is a city in south eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava river from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga.

Jēkabpils Latvia roughly halfway between Riga and Daugavpils. The Daugava River runs through the town. The town was home to an air base during Soviet rule.

CURRENCY

• The lats is the currency of Latvia. The lats is sub-divided into 100 santīmi.

• The Latvian Bank notes come in denominations of 20, 25, 50, 100 and 500 latu.

FLAG

Though officially adopted in 1922, 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 edge 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.

The national flag of Latvia was used by independent Latvia from 1918 until the country was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. After regaining its

independence, Latvia re-adopted on 27 February 1990 the same red-white-red flag.

                  HISTORY

• Latvia was originally settled by Baltic tribes. The Baltic tribes had formed their own local governments by the 10th century. In the 11th century Germany began to have influence on the land. In 1201 it was the German Bishop Albert of Livonia who established the city of Riga, which is today the capital of Latvia. In 1721 Russia took control over Latvia. It wasn’t until the lat 1800s and early 1900s until Latvia began to promote its own identity. In 1918 Latvia declared its independence. In 1921 it became a member of the League of Nations.

In World War II, the Germans occupied much of Latvia. Many Latvian Jews were killed by the Germans. It is thought that almost one third of the Latvian population was killed by Germans and the Russians during the war. After the war, Latvia was taken over by the Soviet Union. Deporting native Latvians to other areas of the Soviet Union and immigrating Soviets into the country.

In 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Latvia became an independent country. In 2004 it joined the European Union.

THE NATIONAL ATHEM

• The music and lyrics were written in 1873 by Kārlis Baumanis, a teacher. It has been speculated that Baumanis may have borrowed part of the lyrics from a popular song which was sung to tune of God Save the Queen, modified them and set them to music of his own. Baumanis's lyrics were different from the modern ones: he used the term "Baltics" synonymously and interchangeably with "Latvia" and "Latvians", so "Latvia" was actually mentioned only at the beginning of the first verse. Later the term "Latvia" was removed and replaced with "Baltics" to avoid a ban on the song. This has led to the misapprehension that the term "Latvia" was not part of the song until 1920, when it was chosen as national anthem and the word "Baltics" was replaced with "Latvia.

people

• Latvia has always been an inter national country. Before world war 2, the population was 75 percent Latvian. The rest of the population consisted of Germans ,Jews, Russians, Gypsies and poles. In 1925,one in eight inhabitants was, but later on all Germans in the Baltic countries were ordered to move to the areas of Poland that had become part of the German Empire. Only a few Germans live in Latvia now.

RELGION

• The main religions in Latvia are Lutheranism, Roman, Catholicism and Russian Orthodox. In the Soviet era there was no freedom of religion. Many churches were closed or used for other purposes –the cathedral in Riga was used as a concert hall and museum for example. Today mass is held in these churches once more

Food • Food in Latvian cuisine is rich in calories . For the ancient

annual festivities – Easter, the Summer Solstice (Jāņu day), the Autumn Solstice (Martini day), and  Christmas – a Latvian would opt for traditional food and old traditions. Then, the dark rye bread, grey peas, baked or stewed pork, variously prepared vegetables, home-made fresh cheese, fish, meat pies, cakes, biscuits and desserts made of local fruits and berries topped with whipped cream are put on the table, along with beer and home-made wine. But this is only a part of the treat – every Latvian hostess is happy if she can surprise guests with something special seen in a restaurant, on a trip, in a magazine or a cookbook. It should be noted that almost everyone knows how to make real Ukrainian borsch, then, on Christmas, there can be a carp, made in Polish style or Jewish forshmack (herring spread), and so on.

Culture

• Latvian people are lovers of music and theater. Their culture revolves around opera music , orchestral symphony and circus pro grammes. Latvian people are highly talented and they take major interest in practicing fine arts like drawing and making sketches of animate and inanimate objects. Their cultural activities are quite interesting where involvement in local dances, musical competitions along with wining and dining makes the most of their living.

People dancing national music and wearing the national

dress

ClimateLatvia has four pronounced seasons of near-equal length.

Winters, starting in mid-December and lasting till mid-March, have average temperatures of around – 6°C 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° and heavy snowfalls are common. Summers, starting in June and lasting till August, are usually warm and sunny with cool evenings and nights. Summers have average temperatures of around +19°C with extremes of +35°C. The weather in spring and autumn is fairly mild.

animals

• Wild boar (Sus scrofa), also known as wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig.

The Black Stork Ciconia nigra is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread, but uncommon, species that breeds in the warmer parts of Europe (predominantly in central and eastern regions), across temperate Asia and Southern Africa. This is a shy and wary species, unlike the closely related White Stork. It is seen in pairs or small flocks, rivers or lakes. The Black Stork feeds on amphibians and insects.

Lynx have short tails and the characteristic tufts of black hair on the tips of their ears. They have a ruff under the neck, which has black bars, is not very visible, and resembles a bow tie. They have large, padded paws for walking on snow, and long whiskers on the face.

The biggest LAKES AND RIVERS and mountains

• Lake Lubāns is the largest lake in Latvia. The lake lies in the centre of the Eastern Latvian. After damaging spring floods in 1926 several dams and ditches were constructed. It has an area of 25km2

The River Daugava is a river flowing through Russia, Belarus, and Latvia, draining into the Gulf of Riga in Latvia .it is 367 km in Latvia.

• Gaiziņkalns is the biggest moutain in Latvia . Its 312 m height .

FAMOUS PEOPLE

Andris Bērziņš,President of Latvia Kārlis Baumanis,

Composer of national Anthem

Mark RothkoFamous painter( abstract expressionist )