History of Latvia: Primary Documents
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EuroDocs > History of Latvia: Primary Documents
History of Latvia
- Overview of various "Germanic" tribes by the Roman historian Tacitus. Includes Aesti living in what are now the Baltic states.
- (English translation; 97 AD)
- Collection of primary documents about the trade agreement between German and Baltic cities known as the Hanseatic League. Riga was one of these cities.
- (English translation; 1157-1659)
- Thirteenth century chronicle of events in the Baltic states. Written by Germanic priest.
- Also available in Russian translation.
- (Latin; 1180-1227)
- Rhyming chronicle written for crusaders in Livonia, which is now Estonia and Latvia.
- Excerpts also available in Russian on this page of documents.
- (Middle High German and Latvian; 1180–1290)
- Chronicle of Livonia by Hermann von Wartberge. Originally in Latin.
- (German translation; 1196-1378)
- Official edicts from bishops, the pope, as well as official complaints and other documents.
- (1199-1266; English translation)
- Digital Library of the Latvian National Library.
- Contains digital history of Latvia and other parts of northern and eastern Europe.
- Website also available in English.
- (16th to 18th centuries; map facsimiles and descriptions)
- (19 October 1558-24 February 1560; Russian transcription)
- Chronicle by important German chronicler.
- (Low German facsimile; 1584)
- J.K. Broce's "Collection of Various Latvian (and Estonian) Monuments."
- (18th to 19th centuries; facsimiles of ten-volume set of drawings, documents, writings, etc.)
- First complete atlas of Livonia and Estonia containing 14 maps of the countries.
- (18th century; zoomable maps)
- Latvian National Anthem. Adopted in 1920.
- (Latvian with English translation; 1873)
- Collection of digitized national periodicals.
- (1895-1957; Latvian facsimiles)
- Collection of historical documents on recent Latvian history, especially in relation to Russia.
- (20th century; Russian)
- Treaty in which Latvia gained independence from Soviet Russia.
- (English translation, August 11, 1920)
- Latvian constitution during interwar period, still in use today.
- (English translation; February 15, 1922)
- Census data from Latvia. Provided by Latvian Statistics.
- (1925-1935; Latvian)
- Report of Latvian envoy on negotiations in Moscow.
- (Latvian; 21 June 1940)
- In 1940, the United States condemned the Soviet occupation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania and refused to recognize the annexation of the three Baltic states.
- From the Wilson Center Digital Archive
- (1940-1966; English)
- Lists Latvians deported under Stalin's policies.
- Scroll to bottom of page to view lists of names, certificates, and camp photos.
- (1940-1941; photos, English interface, Latvian facsimiles)
- Reported by Latvian Legation in 1944. Scroll to bottom of page to view various sections of the report.
- Includes an account of the national culture in Latvia during Nazi Occupation.
- (1940-1944; English translation)
- E-book with a collection of documents from the aftermath of WWII in Latvia.
- (Russian; 1941-1944)
- "Cleansing [of Jews] and securing the area of operation"
- From Yad Vashem
- (1941; English translation)
- Database search for orders and records of the KGB from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
- Enter country and hit search button.
- (English interface with Russian-language documents; 1941-1991)
- Moscow Military District Prosecutor's Office investigation into the methods of the "Latvian operations" of the NKVD of the USSR in 1937-8.
- Also arrested were "Poles, Germans, Bulgarians."
- (1955 report about events in 1937-8; Russian transcription)
- Collected primary documents from the end of the Cold War.
- (1980s; English)
- Declaration of the Lithuanian SSR that the previous independent Latvian constitution should be considered valid. Re-established Latvian independence.
- (May 4, 1990; Lithuanian transcription)
- The Restoration of Lithuania’s Independence in the Pages of the World Press in 1990
- (1990; facsimiles)
- Treaty and other documents concerning Latvia's admission to the European Union. Part of EUR-Lex, a service of the European Union.
- (2003; English)
- Latvia official data files and documents, including country files, parents' occupation, and sample data.
- Files available for download
- (2006-2008; Latvian & Russian; English interface)
Legal & Political Documents
- Collection of Latvian Laws.
- Statutes, criminal and civil codes, and other legal materials.
- A portal of the BYU Law School.
- Library of Congress guide to constitutional, legal and government documents.
- Collection of peace agreements entered into by Latvia.
- (English)
Maps, Archives & Other Collections
- Latvian page of the World Documents Library.
- (photos; facsimiles)
- Sources on Lativa from the Latvia State Historical Archives.
- Register for a free account to access the records.
- (Estonian interface)
- Alphabetical list of newspapers in digital archive.
- From the Latvian National Library.
- (1886-1949; Latvian facsimiles)
- Collection of historical maps of Latvia.
- (facsimiles)
- Collection of historical maps of Europe.
- (facsimiles; Hungarian)
- Warning: Many of the links are broken.
- (Multilingual)
- Database of interviews with Jewish people from Latvia.
- Includes facsimiles of official documents.
- Explore the database by family name, city.
- Advanced search here.
- (photos, English transcriptions, Latvian and Russian facsimiles)
- Jewish Genealogy Resources
- JewishGen
- Courland Research Group
- Jekabpils
- Riga
- (English)
- Also contains a collection of coats of arms for other European countries and principalities.
- (Facsimiles)
EuroDocs > History of Latvia: Primary Documents
EuroDocs Creator: Richard Hacken, European Studies Librarian,
Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.
Feel free to get in touch: eurodocs @ byu.edu