Since the Second World War, Siberia and the Russian Far East are associated with deportations and prison camps. It is difficult to imagine that in decades past, thousands of Latvians and other Balts traveled there willingly to make new homes.
Surname Saturday – Latvian Surname Project Update, July 18, 2015
New format of Surname Saturday here on Discovering Latvian Roots – if you want surname meanings, go check out the Facebook and Twitter pages, here on the blog it will be a summary of what’s new on the Latvian Surname
Tombstone Tuesday – EmÄ«lija Kauliņš, 1880-1941
In this series, I am providing pictures of tombstones from Latvian cemeteries, all with death dates prior to 1945. I do not have any further information on the people mentioned. Photo taken by me, September 2014. Click to enlarge. Name:
Summer Fun Course on Surnames!
So I’ve decided to do a little mini-course this August all about surnames! It will be a light and fun exploration of the intricacies of surnames in Latvia – their acquisition, their meanings, their geographic reach and so on. This
Mappy Monday – All Roads Lead Out of RÄ«ga
I know the saying is typically “all roads lead to X”, but in this case, both are true, though I’ll be talking more about RÄ«ga rather than the rest of the country for this. Many old cities have pretty some
Surname Saturday – Latvian Surname Project Update, July 11, 2015
New format of Surname Saturday here on Discovering Latvian Roots – if you want surname meanings, go check out the Facebook and Twitter pages, here on the blog it will be a summary of what’s new on the Latvian Surname
Finnic Influences in Latvia: Place Names
This is the first in a series of posts regarding Finnic influences in Latvia, which will discuss places, names, language and population, as well as the relevance that this will have on your genealogical adventures. Since Finnic peoples were never
WW1 Diary – July 8, 1918
Seventy-third installment from the diary of my great-grandfather’s sister Alise, written during the First World War. When the diary starts, she is living just a few miles from the front lines of the Eastern Front, and is then forced to
Wordless Wednesday – Jaunpils Lutheran Church
(Click picture to enlarge) Jaunpils Lutheran Church, Jaunpils, Latvia. Construction on this church started in 1592. Photo taken by me, May 2015.
Mappy Monday – The Many Names of Freedom Street
We’re starting off the Mappy Monday series on Discovering Latvian Roots with the most famous and iconic of Latvian streets – BrÄ«vÄ«bas iela, in English – Freedom Street. This is also one of the streets that has undergone the most