Latvia wasn’t always called Latvia – and for most of history, you won’t have found a place called “Latvia” on a map. Only in the 20th century did Latvia become an independent country. This also means that if you are
Finnic Influences in Latvia: Language and Vocabulary
This is the last post in a series on Finnic influences in Latvia. You can also read the other posts in the series about Finnic influence on place names and personal names, as well as read about population crossover at
Finnic Influences in Latvia: Population Crossover
This is the third post in a series about Finnic influences in Latvia. You can read the first one about place names here and the second one about personal names here. Today we will be looking at population crossover. But
Finnic Influences in Latvia: Personal Names
Time for my second post on Finnic influences in Latvia – see the first one on place names here. This post was planned for last week, but then my laptop’s motherboard died, and since it would have cost so much
Finnic Influences in Latvia: Place Names
This is the first in a series of posts regarding Finnic influences in Latvia, which will discuss places, names, language and population, as well as the relevance that this will have on your genealogical adventures. Since Finnic peoples were never
The Dreaded Corner House of RÄ«ga
During the Soviet era, there were few buildings so feared and dreaded in Latvia as the “Corner House” – an otherwise nondescript building on the corner of BrÄ«vÄ«bas and Stabu streets (though of course BrÄ«vÄ«bas street – meaning Freedom Street
52 Ancestors #29: JÄ“kabs LÅ«kins
Time for Week 29 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge! As noted in my first post of this challenge, I am starting with my most ancient known ancestors. This week’s ancestor is JÄ“kabs LÅ«kins, born November 15, 1862
Happy Halloween!
No new puzzle today, Aila is taking the day off for every Goth’s favourite holiday – Halloween! Now, Latvia doesn’t strictly speaking celebrate Halloween, but there are a number of Latvian pagan traditions that do mimic this holiday – most
The Spanish Flu Epidemic in Latvia
Most of you are probably familiar with the Spanish flu epidemic that ravaged the world from the beginning of 1918 to the end of 1920 and killed somewhere between 3 and 5 percent of the world’s population. But do you
“Rally Under the Latvian Flag!”
“Rally Under the Latvian Flag!” This was the headline of the exhortation published on July 19, 1915, by Latvian members of the Imperial Russian Duma, JÄnis Goldmanis and JÄnis ZÄlÄ«tis, announcing that the Imperial Russian Army was allowing the formation