Latvia is known officially as the Republic of Latvia. It is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 24,938 square miles (64,589 km² ). (1) This is a map of Latvia and its neighbors:

The name Latvija (Latvia in Latvian) is derived from the name of the ancient Latgalians, one of four Indo-European Baltic tribes. The other three were the Curonians, Selonians and Semigallians.

Land

Most of the country is composed of fertile lowland plains and moderate hills. In a typical Latvian landscape, a mosaic of vast forests alternates with fields, farmsteads, and pastures. Arable land is spotted with birch groves and wooded clusters, which afford a habitat for numerous plants and animals. Latvia has hundreds of miles of undeveloped seashore—lined by pine forests, dunes, and continuous white sand beaches.

Latvia has the fifth highest proportion of land covered by forests in the European Union, after Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Slovenia. Forests account for 3,497,000 ha (8,640,000 acres) or 56% of the total land area.

Most of Latvia’s territory is flat with less than 100 m (330 ft) above sea level. Latvia’s highest point is Gaiziņkalns, 311.6 m (1,022 ft). Although only relatively high, Gaiziņkalns has been developed into a skiing area with three slopes and several guesthouses.

There are 10 cities and 71 towns in Latvia. By Latvian law, towns are settlements that are centers of culture and commerce with a well-developed architectural-infrastructure and street grid, and have at least 2,000 residents; however, a settlement can be designated a town if it has fewer residents, but fulfills all other requirements (or has been a historic town). (1)

The biggest four cities in Latvia are (in order of size) Riga (also the capital), Daugavpils, Liepaja & Jelgava.

Here are some photos:

PEOPLE

In 2023, Latvians formed about 62.4% of the population, while 23.7% were Russians, Belarusians 3%, Ukrainians 3%, Poles 2%, Lithuanians 1%. Latvia’s ethnic diversity is a result of a number of factors, including a long history of foreign rule, its location on the Baltic Sea trade route, and its proximity to other Slavic countries. The Russian Empire conquered Latvia in the 18th century and ruled the country for over 200 years. During this time, the Russian authorities encouraged the settlement of Russian colonists in Latvia. After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1918, Latvia became an independent country. However, the country was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940 and remained under Soviet rule until 1991.

A major challenge for Latvia in the early 1990s was to offset the aging of its population, a serious problem that had existed even before the country’s independence and that was the result largely of birth rates that were not high enough to ensure population replacement. An attempt was also made to increase the percentage of the population made up of ethnic Latvians by encouraging them to have larger families and by instituting stronger immigration controls. However, because of the unstable political and economic situation of the early post-Soviet period, most families postponed having more children. In fact, at the onset of the 21st century, Latvia had the lowest birth rate of the Baltic states as well as one of the lowest life expectancies in all of Europe.

Flag

The national flag of Latvia has a pretty bloody origin. As the legend goes, the wounded chief of Latgalians was wrapped in a white sheet. The part of the sheet on which he was lying remained white, but the two edges were stained in his blood. During the next battle the bloodstained sheet was used as a flag. According to the legend this time the Latgalian warriors were successful and drove the enemy away. Ever since then Latgalian tribes have used these colors.

This flag was officially adopted in 1921, yet it is one of the oldest flags mentioned in a Chronicle dating from 1279, when Latgalian tribes from Cēsis went to war already bearing this flag. The national flag of Latvia was used by independent Latvia from 1918 until the country was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Its use was suppressed during Soviet rule. On 27 February 1990, shortly before the country regained its independence, the Latvian government re-adopted the traditional red-white-red flag.

The color red symbolizes the blood spilled in wars and the readiness of the Latvians to give their lives to fight for their sovereignty and freedom.

The color white represents peace and independence.

Coat of Arms

The Coat of arms of the Republic of Latvia was officially adopted by the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia on 15 June 1921, and entered official use starting on 19 August 1921. It was created using new national symbols, as well as elements of the coats of arms of Polish and Swedish Livonia and of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. Thus, the coat of arms combines symbols of Latvian national statehood, as well as symbols of its historical regions. The Latvian national coat of arms was designed by Latvian artists Vilhelms Krūmiņš and Rihards Zariņš. (1)

The three golden stars above the shield represent the three historical regions of Latvia: Vidzeme (Swedish Livonia), Latgale (Latgalia or Polish Livonia) and Kurzeme (Courland, also Zemgale (Semigallia) as the Duchy of Courland and Semigalia) and their unity.

The golden sun in a blue field represents freedom. The sun was also used as a symbol of distinction and national identity used by the Imperial Russian Army’s Latvian Riflemen units during World War I. During the war, the sun was fashioned with 17 rays that symbolized the 17 Latvian-inhabited districts.

The bottom part of escutcheon is divided into two fields:

• The red lion from the Coat of arms of Courland represents Courland and Semigallia. The symbol appears as early as 1565 in the coat of arms of the former Duke of Courland and Semigalia.
• The silver griffin from the Coat of arms of Livonia represents Vidzeme and Latgalia. The Gryf coat of arms as the heraldic symbol of the Duchy of Livonia was granted in 1566, when the territories known today as Vidzeme and Latgale had come under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz was made the first governor of Duchy of Livonia (1566–78).

The red lion and silver griffin are also used as supporters.

Base of the coat of arms is decorated with the branches of an oak tree, Quercus robur, which is one of Latvia’s national symbols, and tied by a red-white-red ribbon. (1)

Can’t wait to learn about the history of this country! Thank you so much for coming along!

Sources:

(1) Wikipedia

(2) Encyclopedia Britannica