Passport/Visa Requirements: Citizens of Canada and the U.S. need only their passports. Reconfirm travel document requirements with your carrier before departure.
Population: 2,306,306.
Languages: Latvian, Russian..
Predominant Religions: Christian (Lutheran, Russian Orthodox).
Time Zone: 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (+2 GMT). Daylight Saving Time is observed from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.
Voltage Requirements: 220 volts.
Telephone Codes: 371, country code;
For More Information
Tourist OfficesNational Tourist Board of Latvia, 4 Pils Square, Riga, LV-1050. Phone 371-722-9945. Fax 371-750-8468. http://www.latviatourism.lv.
Latvia does not have tourist offices in Canada or the U.S.
Latvia Embassies
Canada: Latvian Embassy, 350 Sparks St., Suite 1200, Ottawa, ON K1R 7S8. Phone 613-238-6014. Fax 613-238-7044. http://www.ottawa.am.gov.lv/en.
U.S.: Latvian Embassy, 4325 17th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20011. Phone 202-726-8213. Fax 202-726-6785. http://www.latvia-usa.org.
Embassies in Latvia
Canadian Embassy, 4 Doma Laukums, Fourth Floor, Riga, LV-1977. Phone 371-783-0141. Fax 371-783-0140.
U.S. Embassy, 7 Raina Blvd., Riga, LV-1050. Phone 371-703-6200. Fax 371-781-4088. http://www.usembassy.lv.
Additional Reading
The Baltic Revolution by Anatol Lieven (Yale University Press). The author, a journalist stationed in the Baltics during the early 1990s, examines each Baltic country's revolution and its prospects for the future. A bit dated now, the book is still worth reading for its coverage of Latvia's revolution.
The Testimony of Lives: Narrative and Memory in Post-Soviet Latvia by Vieda Skultans (Routledge). An anthropologist interviews more than 100 Latvians, who explain how their lives have changed since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
The Latvians: A Short History (Studies of Nationalities) by Andrejs Plakans. The prehistory, history and the life of present-day Latvia.
The Holocaust in Latvia, 1941-1944: The Missing Center by Andrew Ezergailis. The author analyzes German, Latvian and Soviet sources, describing the position of Jews in prewar Latvia, the role of the government, and the rise of anti-Semitism.
Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights, Vol. 2: The Stone Castles of Latvia and Estonia, 1185-1560 (Fortress 19) by Stephen Turnbull and Peter Dennis. Detailed illustrated history of Teutonic Knights in Livonia, including the population's conversion to Christianity.
