Culture of Latvia

Latvia is divided into several cultural and historical regions: Vidzeme, Latgale, Courland, Zemgale and Sēlija.

[citation needed] On 15 May 1934, Kārlis Ulmanis seized power in a coup d'état and established an authoritarian regime, which lasted only until the outbreak of World War II and Soviet occupation in 1939–40.

During the war, with a period of German occupation from 1941 to 1945, Latvia lost its de facto independence as it was occupied by the USSR and became the Latvian SSR.

[1] There is a culturally and linguistically distinct subgroup, the Latgalians, who inhabit the Latgale region in eastern Latvia.

Other well known minorities are Romani people, Baltic Germans and Jews, whose population decreased significantly after the Second World War, as well as Lithuanians and Estonians.

[4] Originating at a time before clothing had pockets, the sash was practical as it helped keep garments together and could be used for attaching items like keys or a knife.

Dating back well over a thousand years, more than 1.2 million texts and 30,000 melodies of folk songs have been identified.

Today the majority of Latvians are part of the Lutheran Church, with large Catholic and Orthodox Christian minorities.

In western Latvia, single farms are more popular and in villages, the houses are positioned in a circle around a central square.