Our country,

our city,

our school

ISMA Secondary School

«Premjers»

Riga, 2012

LATVIA

Official name - the Republic of Latvia

Situated in the Baltic region of Northern Europe

Borders with Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus and a maritime border to the west with Sweden

Population: 2,070,371 inhabitants (according to 2011 census)

Territory: 64,589 km2

Climate: temperate seasonal

Latvia is a democratic parliamentary republic

Founded on November 18,1918

The Parliament is called Saeima

Latvia is a member of NATO, European Union,

United Nations, Council of Europe

FlagCoat of arms

President of Latvia

Andris Bērziņs

People in Latvia

Ethnic groups: Latvians (62.1%), Russians (26.9%), Belarusians (3.4%), Ukrainians (2.2%), Poles (2.2%), Lithuanians (1.2%), Jews (0.3%), Roma (0.3%),others (1.4%)

Religion: Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia – 708,773people, Roman Catholic – 500,000 people, Russian Orthodox –370,000 people

The official language: Latvian

National symbols

Oak and linden

– Latvia’s

national trees

Daisy – Latvia’s

national flower

White wagtail -

Latvia's national

bird

Two-spot ladybird –

Latvia’s national insect

Amber - Latvia's

most important

cultural symbol

Environment● The highest

point in Latvia is

Gaiziņkalns,

311,5 m above

sea level.

● 56% of

the total land

area is covered

by forests.

● 9.9% of the

territory is covered

by mires.

Environment Latvia has over 12,500 rivers, which stretch for

38,000 km. Major rivers - the Daugava River,

Lielupe, Gauja, Venta, and Salaca.

There are 2,256 lakes. The largest are Lubāns (80.70

sq.km)and Rāznas (57.56 sq.km).

Culture Latvians have got very rich folklore: more than 1.2 million

texts and 30,000 melodies of folk songs have been identified.

Latvian Song and Dance Festival is the most important event in Latvian culture and social life. It is held every year in summer.

Latvians respect their ancestors’ traditions and celebrate many holidays: Christmas, Easter, Līgo and others.

Traditional cuisine Latvian cuisine typically consists

of agricultural products, with meat featuring in most main meal dishes.

Fish is commonly consumed due to Latvia's location on the Baltic Sea.

Common ingredients in Latvian recipes are found locally, such as potatoes, wheat, barley, cabbage, onions, eggs and pork. Latvian food is generally quite fatty, and uses few spices.

Grey peas with bacon, dark rye bread, beer, caraway cheese as well as various rolls are generally considered as staple foods of Latvians. Rye bread soup is traditional Latvian dessert.

Cities There are 9 cities and 67 towns in Latvia.

The major cities are: Riga, Daugavpils, Rēzekne,

Jelgava, Jūrmala, Liepāja, Ventspils, Jēkabpils

and Valmiera.

Daugavpils – the second largest

city in Latvia

Jūrmala – the resort city at

the Baltic sea

Our city - Riga Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia with 658,640

residents.

It was founded in 1201 by Bishop Albert.

Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,

noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th

century wooden architecture.

Art Nouveau/Jugendstil

Our school – ISMA Secondary School «Premjers» -a private school founded in 2000.

Thank you for your

attention!

This presentation has been made for the Comenius Multilateral Project " Save the Past, live the Present, Imagine the Future" .

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This presentation reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission

cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.