Riga

Latvia - June 2017
P001 - IMG_0840 June 8 Thursday afternoon to Saturday June 10 morning - our summer 2017 sightseeing visit here in Riga, Republic of Latvia (abbreviated as Latvia)...
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P002a - IMG_0966 Latvia, a country of northeastern Europe in the middle of the three Baltic States (Lithuania to the south and Estonia to the north)...
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P003 - IMG_0835 ... situated almost in the geographical center of Europe on the shore of Baltic Sea and Gulf of Riga - Latvia - with a total area of almost 25,000 sq.miles, the...
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P004 - IMG_1144 ... maximum length of the territory in the west-east direction around 280 miles, south-north around 130 miles, and the overland state-border length totals some...
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P005 - P1130717 ... essentially an undulating plain with fairly flat lowlands alternating with hills, Latvia contains a multitude of rivers that drain into the Baltic Sea, the...
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P006 - IMG_0868 ... forests account for more than 1/3 of the total area, and about 1/10 of the forests are cultivated - the larger forest tracts in the northern part of the...
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P007 - IMG_0856 ... most of Latvia’s major cultural sites located in the capital city...
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P008 - IMG_0844 ... a brief history telling - the name
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P009 - IMG_0942 ... The Curonians (Kurši) was one of the ancient Baltic tribes which formed the Latvian and Lithuanian nations. From the 5th to 16th centuries, they inhabited...
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P010 - IMG_0862 ... this brave and militant tribe caused fright in its Scandinavian neighbors across the Baltic Sea, among the last pagan tribes of Europe to convert to...
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P011 - P1130719 ... Latvia, under ruling by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) since the end of the 18th century, fought for independence during 1917 to 1920 - the...
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P012 - P1130806 ... with Soviets' recognition of its sovereignty in September 1991, the United Nations membership status followed shortly afterwards - Latvia, admitted to the...
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P013 - IMG_1014 ... industrialization in Latvia began in the latter part of the 19th century, and by the late 20th century the country was the most heavily industrialized of...
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P014 - IMG_0892 ... substantial economic changes occurred following Latvia’s independence in 1991 as the country transitioned to a market economy - starting in the mid-1990s,...
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P015 - P1130766 ... before the Soviet occupation in 1940, ethnic Latvians constituted about three-fourths of the country’s population; today they make up about three-fifths of...
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P016 - IMG_1033 ... the majority of Latvians adhere to Christianity - mainly Lutheranism, Roman Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy; about one-fourth of Latvians consider...
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P017 - IMG_1017 ... the official language of Latvia being Latvian, however, nearly one-third of the population speaks Russian; smaller numbers speak Romany (the Indo-Aryan...
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