6 Fun Facts You Probably Did Not Know About Latvia
Riga has been the biggest city of… Sweden!
Ok, it was in the 17th century, but still. Riga was a part of the Swedish Empire from 1621 to 1710, and you can still find traces of that time in Old Riga. For example, have you visited Swedish Gate which is the only gate of the Riga defense system that has survived to this day?
The story behind Milda
The woman on the Latvian Euro coin is called Milda. An artist who created Milda used a prototype - a real Latvian girl whose name was Zelma Bauere. The artist Rihards Zariņš first created the Mildas portrait in 1929, when the first Latvian silver coin - 5 lats were created. Milda is wearing the traditional Latvian outfit and traditional crown. She has become a symbol of Latvians and their freedom, and Milda has lived through different times and different currencies, so after the national currency lati switched to Euros, Latvians did not hesitate to put the beloved Milda on the euro coins as well.
The National mineral of Latvia is amber
Sometimes amber is called the stone of the Sun, and it is also because when you walk on a beach on a sunny day, you can see how the amber is shining reflecting the sun. Ambers are quite common in the western part of Latvia on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Especially after storms. Latvians take quite long walks on the shore after stormy nights to look for pieces of amber - some just for fun, but some then prepare different jewelry, beads, or even sculptures.
Latvian surnames are often names of trees
The Central Bureau of Statistics analyses the most common surnames of Latvians, and some of the most popular ones carry the name of the trees - Bērziņš (birch tree), Ozoliņš (smaller oak tree), Ozols (bigger oak tree), Liepiņš (Linden tree). In Latvian surnames a lot of local flora and fauna references can be found - names of animals, fishes, trees, and birds. Of course, some of the surnames are influenced also by other cultures and languages, but nature has inspired the majority of Latvian surnames.
Latvians used to dress up to scare the darkness away
On February 6th is the National traditional celebration called Meteņi in Latvia. What does Meteņi mean? Meteņi is a relative midpoint between Christmas and Easter, or the winter and spring solstice, which marks the end of winter and the approach of spring, therefore Meteņi can also be called the festival of waiting for spring. Meteņi is a celebration with a lot of food and drinks and there was a belief that the longer Meteņi is celebrated, the better the harvest is expected following summer. People were often wearing masks, to scare the darkness away. You can still participate in authentic Meteņi celebrations every year at The Ethnographic open-air museum of Latvia, which is located in Riga.
Latvians have a mushroom-picking championship
If you see a person with a bucket and a knife in the woods, you must not worry, this is a typical way for Latvians to spend autumn weekends - to go into the woods and pick up mushrooms. Latvians love mushroom picking so much, that they even have a National championship in mushroom picking, which brings together professional mushroom pickers, amateurs, and everyone, who wants to enjoy an afternoon in the forest. To know your mushrooms and separate the ones that are eatable and which are poisonous - this is already included in the kindergarten curriculum. Almost every household has its traditional recipes on how to cook, boil, marinate, or dry mushrooms.
Vita, OLS Community Manager - Latvian