Latvia is among the few countries left in the world where natural ecosystems, largely untouched by man, still thrive in over 50 percent of its territory. It is a haven for the tourist who seeks to experience a land where nature and tradition have coexisted in harmony from time immemorial.
| The country that we today call Latvia has long attracted foreigners – at first, invaders of all kinds, and later travellers and adventure seekers. For example, since the 1830s the region surrounding the city of Sigulda has been called the "Switzerland of Vidzeme" by German travellers who compared the sandstone banks of Sigulda's Gauja valley with those of the Elba river in Saxony. |
The Gauja valley |
Unfortunately, in the 20
th century Latvia suffered through two world wars, and from 1940 until 1991 it was occupied and isolated behind the Iron Curtain by the Soviet Union. As a result, Latvia has been relegated to a "blank spot" on modern European and world tourist maps. Today, this largely unknown land is waiting to be discovered, ready to be revealed as the colorful mosaic that is Latvia.
Text: Valdis Pilats, The Gauja National Park
Photographers: A.Eglitis, J.Pigoznis, V.Pilats, J.Zalans
© The Latvian Institute, 1999-2000
This fact sheet can be freely printed from homepage of the Latvian Institute, distributed and cited, on condition that the Latvian Institute is acknowledged as the source. The Latvian Institute is a non-profit organisation (a State Corporation with limited liability) established to promote knowledge about Latvia abroad. It produces publications, in several languages, on many aspects of Latvia.
