DESTINATION LATVIA

Facts at a Glance

Full country name: Republic of Latvia
Area: 64,589 sq km (25,190 sq mi)
Population: 2.5 million
Capital city: Riga (pop 874,100)
People: Latvian 57%, Russian 30%, Belarusian 4%, Ukrainian 3%, Polish 3%
Language: Latvian, Russian, ethnic languages
Religion: Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox
Government: Republic
President: Guntis Ulmanis

About 40% of Latvia is forested, and elk, deer, wild boar, wolves, lynx and brown bears are prominent forest inhabitants. Beavers and otters live in the inland waterways and seals along the coast. Latvia is also home to 6500 pairs of white stork (6 times as many as the whole of Western Europe). Latvia's sole national park, situated in the Gauja river valley east of Riga, has great scenery, walking trails, castles and a wildlife centre. There are a number of nature reserves, 3 of which are situated in the Kurzeme region in western Latvia.

From early November until the April thaw, temperatures rarely rise above 4°C (39°F) and the sun shines only a few hours a day. June to August daytime highs normally range between 14-22°C (57-71°F). July and August are the warmest months but are prone to persistent showers.

In the first few centuries AD the tribes of the region traded with Germanic tribes and the Roman Empire. Later, they traded with and fought against Vikings and Russians. By the 12th century the Finno-Ugric and Balt peoples were split into a number of tribal groups, all practising nature religions. Following papal calls for a crusade against the northern heathens, Germanic missionaries arrived in the area but achieved little until the 13th century. The Knights of the Sword (later known as the Livonian Order), an order of crusading knights whose white cloaks were emblazoned with blood-red swords and crosses, forcibly converted the region by 1290. Latvia was subject to continuous foreign rule from the 13th to the 20th century.

Protestant Sweden and Catholic Poland-Lithuania settled down in 1592 to fight each other in the Baltic lands. Most of eastern Latvia, including Riga, ended up in Swedish hands. The period of Swedish rule is looked back on fondly as a relatively enlightened episode in the country's long history of oppression. The 17th century Swedish kings raised Latvian peasants from serfdom and introduced universal education. The liberation of the serfs triggered a Latvian national revival by allowing native people to move into trades, professions, commerce and intellectual circles. Slowly, Latvia emerged as a political entity in its own right, despite the unpopular and oppressive process of Russification towards the end of the 19th century. Latvia was subject to German occupation during WWI, but on 18 November 1918, just 7 days after Germany surrendered to the Allies, peasant, middle class and socialist groups declared independence and Karlis Ulmanis, head of the Farmers' Party, formed a government. However, fighting continued between nationalists, Bolsheviks and Baltic Germans until 1920, when Soviet Russia signed a peace treaty with the parliamentary republic of Latvia, recognising its independence in perpetuity.

By the early 1930s Latvia had lapsed into authoritarianism, and on 23 August 1939 (when Nazi Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression pact) Latvia was placed in the Soviet sphere of influence. By August 1940 the nation had been placed under Soviet military occupation, communists had won 'elections' and Latvia had been 'accepted' as a republic of the USSR. Nationalisation and purges began, and within a year 35,000 Latvians were killed, deported or fled the country. Germany invaded the USSR and occupied Latvia in 1941.

Though many Latvians considered the Nazis liberators and enlisted in German military units, Latvia's 90,000-strong Jewish population was virtually wiped out. A large number of Latvians fled to the West in 1944 and 1945 to avoid the Red Army's reconquest of their country, but Latvia's total losses during WWII were still around 450,000. Under Stalin, another 175,000 Latvians were killed or deported between 1945 and 1949.

The first signs that the harsh Soviet rule of Latvia was relaxing came in the late 1980s when Mikhail Gorbachev started to encourage glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). Decades of pent-up bitterness emerged along with mass demands for self-rule. In 1988, Latvian government members joined public meetings and rallies, while a popular front pressing for democratic reform won a huge following. In spring 1990 nationalists won a large majority in the Latvian parliament, reinstated the pre-WWII constitution but declared a transition period for full independence. In early 1991 a referendum resulted in a large majority favouring secession from the USSR, and on 21 August, 2 days after a coup attempt against Gorbachev in Moscow, Latvia declared full independence. This was recognised by the West and, finally, by the USSR on 6 September 1991. Latvia joined the United Nations less than 2 weeks later.

Big midsummer celebrations start on 23 June, when people flock to the countryside to celebrate amid the lakes and pine forests. Special beers, cheeses and pies are prepared and wreaths strung from grasses, while flowers and herbs are hung around the home to bring good luck and keep families safe from evil spirits.

Gadatirgus is a big arts and crafts fair held in Riga in the first weekend in June. The Baltika Annual International Folklore Festival, which has taken place in each Baltic capital in turn since 1987, is a weeklong affair of music, dance, exhibitions and parades usually held in mid-July. It's next due to be held in Riga in 2000.

Other music festivals include the International Festival of Organ Music, held in the capital in June; the Opera Music Festival, held in Sigulda in July; the Festival of Ancient Music, at Bauska Castle in July; and Liepajas Dzintars, a rock festival held in Liepaja in mid-August. Ascension Day, a big Roman Catholic gig, is celebrated between 14 and 16 August in Aglona.

Money & Costs

• Budget meal: US$2-10
  
• Moderate restaurant meal: US$10-25
  
• Top-end restaurant meal: US$25 and upwards

• Budget room: US$3-20
  
• Moderate hotel: US$20-80
  
• Top-end hotel: US$80 and upwards

Travelling in Latvia is pretty expensive since prices are comparable to those in Scandinavia. Accommodation is likely to be your biggest expense. Fortunately, overland transport is still relatively cheap. Travelers on a tight budget can get by on US$30 per day, though adding a few more sit-down meals and comfier accommodation can easily double that. The cost of a luxurious lifestyle in Latvia is equivalent to that in any Western European country.

Cashing travellers' cheques can be difficult outside Riga, Daugavpils and Sigulda, though every town has somewhere to exchange hard currency. US dollars and Deutschmarks are the easiest to exchange, though other Baltic and Western European currencies aren't far behind. Most ATMs accept major credit cards, as do most shops, hotels and restaurants.

There's an 18% value added tax (VAT) in Latvia, so be sure to check prices to see if it's been included. While tipping isn't compulsory, it's common to tip waiters 5% to 10% by rounding up the bill. If waiters 'try it on' by telling you that they don't have change, don't have a bar of it. There's some bargaining at flea markets, but discounts are likely to be minimal.

When to Go

Riga straddles the Daugava River, about 15km (9mi) from its mouth in the south-eastern corner of the Gulf of Riga. Centuries-old German buildings are strewn throughout the historic quarter of Vecriga (Old Riga), and taking the lift up to the spire of St Peter's Church for an aerial view of the neighbourhood is one of the highlights of a visit. Riga Castle dates from 1330, when it was built as the headquarters of the Livonian Order. It's now the home of Latvia's president.

East of Old Riga the city blossoms with 19th century parks and wide boulevards. The Freedom Monument, erected in 1935, is the area's main landmark. Encompassing Old Riga, New Town dates from the 19th and early 20th centuries and comprises a mixture of business and residential zones. Housed in several WWI zeppelin hangars south of Old Riga, the lively central market is the focus of the city's modern life and a fair barometer of its standard of living.

The WWII Riga ghetto was in the Maskavas suburb, home to Riga's only remaining synagogue and the city's Jewish Museum. Don't miss the Riga Motor Museum, 8km (5mi) east of Old Riga, which features cars that once belonged to Soviet luminaries Gorky, Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev - complete with irreverent life-size figures of the men themselves.

In summer, tables and chairs spill out onto Doma laukums (Dome Square), transforming it into a fun-packed plaza of cheap cafes, beer tents and late-night bars. You're spoilt for choice dining out in Riga, but if you long for a return to the good ol' days, there's a Soviet-style cafe in Old Riga which has stale buns, plastic cups, drab walls and vodka at rock-bottom prices.

Just 12km (7mi) west of Bauska is the 18th century Rundale Palace, the architectural highlight of provincial Latvia. It was designed and built in the 18th century by a baroque genius from Italy, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who created many of St Petersburg's finest buildings. Bauska is 65km (40mi) south of Riga on the main Riga-Vilnius road. There's no railway here, but there are many daily buses.

Visitors to Kuldiga can fish and swim in the Venta River, which features a 2m (6ft) waterfall, a big deal in a country as flat as Latvia; an even bigger deal among locals is its 275m (900ft) span, which makes it the widest cascade in Europe. Kuldiga is 150km (93mi) west of Riga. It's connected to the capital by bus.

Dundaga's castle is also steeped in legend, since a fair maiden who made the tragic mistake of intruding upon a gnomes' wedding is said to have been walled up here alive. Locals say she still haunts the castle, only appearing during a full moon. Dundaga lies north-east of Riga, 20km (12mi) inland from the Gulf of Riga coast, and is best reached by car.

Mazsalaca is on the Salaca River in the northern Vidzeme, north-west of Riga. It's on a suburban rail line from Riga, though only a single slow train a day comes this far north.

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