Latvia and Latvians

Latvia is one of the three Baltic States. It is a small country, which is situated on the East cost of the Baltic Sea. Its territory is 64 000 km2. Latvia is rather flat there are no high mountains, only hills. The highest hill is Gaiziņš, which is 310 m high. The lowest part of Latvia is Zemgale. Latvia is rich in lakes, rivers and forests. Latvia consists of four regions. They are Kurzeme, Zemgale, Vidzeme and Latgale. Kurzeme and Vidzeme are hilly, but Latgale is rich in lakes. It is called “the land of blue lakes”. The longest rivers in Latvia are the Daugava, the Gauja, the Venta and the Lielupe.
Latvia borders with Russia, Byelorussia, Estonia and Lithuania. Latvia has a long sea border. Latvia has good ports, which do not freeze in winter. They are Riga, Liepāja and Ventspils. Many foreign ships come to the ports of Riga and Ventspils.
Riga is the capital of the Latvia. It is the largest city in the Baltics, with a population of 800,000. Riga was founded in 1201. Some years ago Riga celebrated its 800th anniversary. This festivity was very high. At the end there was a big and very considerable firework. We can see the oldest part of Riga, which locate near the Daugava. It is called Old Riga. We can see old historical buildings there – old houses, churches, the castle of Riga.…