homemaking friendsworld infoglobal etiquette
Offical name
Republic of Latvia
Capital
Riga
Government type
parliamentary democracy
Language
Latvian,Russian
Area
64,589 sq km
Population
2,274,735 ( 2006 est.)
Currency
Latvian lat (LVL)
Religion
Lutheran, Roman Catholic
Time zone
GMT/UTC +2 ()
Country dialing code
371
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Along with Estonia and Lithuania, Latvia is one of the Baltic States which are bounded by the Baltic Sea. As the old domed churches and the Saint Peter Cathedral reveal, Riga, the Capital of the country, has more than 800 years of history. UNESCO highly praised the ‘Historic Sector of Riga’ for preserving the most brilliant art-nouveau buildings in the world, and appointed it as World Heritage in 1997. In the downtown of Riga, the ‘Freedom Monument’ stands 42 meters tall, with the statue of liberty standing on top of it. Riga is also a place where the legendary Korean-Russian rock star, Viktor Tsoi, was killed by a car accident. The natural ecosystem of Latvia is relatively well-preserved with abundant wild animals such as beavers, lynxes, otters, etc. Latvians enjoy fish. Especially, cooked eel is one of the most famous delicacies of Latvia. Latvians also love dairy products such as milk and cottage cheese, enjoying them in almost every meal.
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