Baltics - Latvia - Valmiera

Latvia

Latvia is one of the three Baltic States, it is situated in the Northern Europe, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It shares land border with Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Lithuania. The capital of Latvia is Rīga - a charming green city with a beautiful old town. Latvia is rather flat, but the green forests and the countryside add a very special beauty to the landscape. The climate is very varied and changing: it can be very hot in the summers (+ 30 C), and very cold during the winters (- 15 C); however, the weather changes very quickly and quite often it can be rather gloomy and rainy during all seasons.

Facts:

Official name: Latvijas Republika (The Republic of Latvia)

Official language: Latvian; Latvian language is a Baltic language which belongs to the Indo-European family of languages. The Latvian language is considered to be one of the oldest of the Indo-European (European) languages. It is non-slavic and non-germanic, similar only to Lithuanian.

Capital city: Riga

Government: Democratic Parliamentary Republic with one legislative house (100 members)

Religion: Predominantly Protestant (Lutheran), Roman Catholic in the eastern part of the country, Orthodox in bigger cities

Geography: Northern Europe, on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, sandy beaches, lowland plains and rolling hills, lakeland in the east. Latvia borders Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Lithuania. Length of Latvia's coastline: 494 km

Climate: Summer average +18¼ C, winter average -5¼ C

Population: 2 294 600

Ethnic composition: Latvian 59,0%, Russian 28,5%, Byelorussian 3,8%, Ukrainian 2,5%, Polish 2,4%, Lithuanian 1,4%

Independence Day: November 18

More information on Latvia:

www.latinst.lv
www.latvia.lv
www.lv
www.latviatourism.lv

Valmiera

Valmiera is the largest town in Vidzeme. It lies on the crossroads of several important motorways, only about 100 km from the capital city of Latvia - Riga and about 50 km from the Estonian border.

Population in Valmiera: 27 514

Valmiera is developing as a business and administrative centre by investing in the development of culture, arts and sports. The contributing factors for the development are educational institutions and, of course, Vidzeme University College. One of the main priorities in Valmiera is to develop a friendly environment for entrepreneurship. The largest manufacturing and commercial enterprises of Vidzeme Region are in Valmiera; they have close cooperation with partners abroad.

More information on Valmiera: www.valmiera.lv