About the Latvian Farm Project

What is the Latvian Farm Project?

The Latvian Farm Project is a listing of pre-Second-World-War farms, intended to help people find the locations of their ancestral farms. There are numerous atlases out there, but I have not found any pre-Second-World-War ones that provide a complete index of each farm name. Some modern atlases do, but they are not a completely accurate reflection on farming prior to the Second World War, since the Communist era had a great impact on traditional farming practices.

What is the purpose of the Latvian Farm Project?

In addition to helping people find their ancestral farms, it will in time also be a reference to analyze farm names and create a greater understanding of the naming practices of our ancestors, both for farm names and surnames. Looking further into the future, I hope to link this project with both the Record and Surname Projects in order to map families to specific farms and create local parish histories complete with family lists.

How is it organized?

Farms are organized alphabetically under the headings of pre-Second-World-War civil parishes. If you don't find a farm name you're looking for in the parish you expect it in, look in the neighbouring parishes. It may have been in a border area that was close to call in terms of which one it is found in. It will also be noted if there are multiple farms with the same name in the same parish.

I have the parish, now how do I find it on a map?

There are numerous maps that can guide you in this. Many of them can be purchased from Jāņa Sēta, a map store. They have an excellent collection of old maps available as prints or on CD. They also have an excellent searchable online reference, Baltic Maps, that provides a modern map. But if you want the most accurate location of your ancestral farm, I highly recommend consulting an old map.

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this database, no content is guaranteed. Content is subject to change without notice to reflect new, updated and/or corrected information. The Latvian Farm Project will not be held liable for any consequences of the use of or reliance on this material. It is intended to serve as a guide only, you should always consult primary documents for verification.