Historical Latvian Lands

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Cultural regions of Latvia
)

Map of the Historical Latvian Lands with cities and towns (since 2021)

Historical Latvian Lands (

Zemgale, Latgale, Vidzeme, and Sēlija (Selonia
). While some of these regions are seen purely as culturally distinct, others have historically been parts of different countries and have been used to divide the country for administrative and other purposes.

On 16 June 2021, the

Sēlija. The state city of Riga, a Baltic metropolis, is a historical part of Vidzeme and the special identity and the particularities of the cultural and historical environment of Riga should be supported and promoted.[1][2]

Historical Latvian Lands

The Latvian nation was formed from the cultures of peoples that inhabited the Historical Latvian Lands:

The Appendix 1 to the Historical Latvian Lands Law enumerates the cities (or city parts) and parishes according to the historical lands.[1]

Five Historical Latvian Lands with cities and towns (before 2021)

In some cases, Kurzeme, Sēlija and Zemgale are combined into one region. This reflects the political division of Latvia between 1629 and 1917, when Kurzeme and Zemgale were together, first as the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, then as the Courland Governorate in the Russian Empire while Vidzeme and Latgale as parts of the Duchy of Livonia were politically separate, both from Courland and one from another since the 17 century. From this perspective, there are three regions: Kurzeme (including Zemgale and Sēlija), Vidzeme and Latgale. Such division is no longer commonly used but it can be seen in the coat of arms of Latvia and the Monument of Freedom in Riga both of which contain three stars: for Kurzeme, Vidzeme and Latgale, which were united into Latvia in 1918.

Regional symbols

Other ethnocultural regions

Map of Latvian dialects

Several other, smaller, ethnocultural regions are identified in Latvia: Maliena [lv], Piebalga [lv], Lejaskurzeme [lv], Suiti [lv] parishes, Livonian Coast (Lībiešu krasts), Leišmale [lv], and Vidiena [lv].[3]

See also

References