Baltic Lives:
An Exploration of Latvian History
Come on a unique journey through Latvian history. Walk the streets of Riga and witness the rise of urban industry. Experience the glory of Empire and witness sail turn to steam. Feel the devastation of war and the thrill of freedom. The journey is just beginning…
This is definitely my favourite of all the old photos my father-in-law has from his father’s family. My husband and I call it the ‘Party Picture’. I have...
The red dot indicates the location of 9 Karlīnes iela (11 Miera iela today) on this beautiful map of Riga from 1926
History & Style
In the first...
Postcard from the 1930s showing the intersection of Brīvības and Karlīnes streets. Karlīnes (today Miera) is the street going off to the left (photo in...
A Teutonic Knight on the left and a Swordbrother on the right (Wikimedia Commons)
Founding and Early History
More than seven centuries ago, groups...
The SS Baltabor after running aground on Naissaar Island on the Estonian coast in 1929 (Wikimedia Commons)
This steamer ship started its life in 1911...
Andrejs and Lizette Zekants c. 1911 (photo in private family collection)
The world suddenly stopped. The cold dark winter air was violently sucked from...
Talsi Baptist Church in 1937, not long after its construction (photo held in the Aleksandra Pelēčas Reading Room available online at the Latvian National...
The Old City of Riga along the Daugava River in the 1890s (Wikimedia Commons)
In the winter of 1897, a census was taken across the entire Russian Empire....
The Okte Manor house c. 2001 (Wikimedia Commons: J. Sedols)
As evening set in on a frigid day in mid-December, with the winter sun already hidden away,...
Lāčupes cemetery in winter (cemety.lv)
Lāčupes cemetery is a serene wooded oasis just north of the industrial neighborhood of Iļģuciems in Riga,...