Liepaya - City of Latvia

Liepaja is a city in western Latvia on the Baltic sea and the administrative center of Liepaja district. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port.

Liepaja is known throughout Latvia as "the city where the wind is born", possibly due to the constant sea breeze. A song of the same name was composed by Imants Kalninš and has become the anthem of the city. The reputation of Liepaja as the windiest city in Latvia has been further endorsed as the biggest wind power plant in Latvia was constructed nearby.

The original settlement in the place of modern Liepaja was founded by Curonian fishermen and known by the name Liva . The oldest written text mentioning the name is dated 4 April 1253. The Livonian Order under the aegis of the Teutonic Order established the settlement as the village of Liba in 1263. In 1418 the city was sacked and burned by the Lithuanians. In 15th century, through the Liva, passed a trade route from Amsterdam to Moscow, part of which was named the "white road to Lyva portus". By 1520 the river Liva became too shallow for easy navigation, and this negatively influenced the development of the city.

During World War I German dirigibles bombed Liepaja in January, 1915. Liepaja was occupied by the German army on May 7, 1915, in memory of this event the monument was constructed on Kurmajas prospect in 1916. On 23 October 1915, German cruiser SMS Prinz Adalbert was sunk by the British submarine HMS E8, 37 kilometers west of Liepaja. In the 1915 Liepaja's local government issued its own money - Libava rubles.

During the war words of The Jäger March were written in Liepaja by Heikki Nurmio.

After the war, when the independent state of Latvia was founded, Liepaja became the de facto capital of Latvia for six months when the interim government of Latvia, headed by Karlis Ulmanis, fled from Riga on a ship "Saratov". In 1918 Libava was renamed Liepaja. In 1935 KOD started to manufacture the light aircraft KOD-1 and KOD-2.

Liepaja is located in a zone with a temperate marine climate. The major factor influencing the weather in the region is the Baltic Sea, providing a mild winter and a cool summer. During the winter the sea around Liepaja is virtually ice-free. Although occasionally some land-fast ice may develop, it seldom reaches a hundred meters from the shore and does not last long before melting. The sea warms up fully only in the beginning of August, so the best bathing season in Liepaja is from August to September. Regular meteorological observations in the city have been conducted from 1857.

Liepaja has a number of churches, as would be expected in a city of its size. As elsewhere in central and western Latvia, Protestant churches — mostly Lutheran and Baptist — are predominant. The congregations of St. Anne church and St. Paul church are among the most well-established. Due to the regional importance of Liepaja during the last decades of the Russian Empire a number of Russian Orthodox churches were established in the city early in the twentieth century, and are still attended mainly by the Russian speaking population. Catholic faith is represented in Liepaja by a well established church, Catholic primary school and the Catholic centre established in a pavilion, which represented the Vatican in Expo 2000 in Hanover and was transferred to Liepaja after the event.Several other Christian churches such as Old Believers, Adventist, Pentecostal, Latter Day Saints and Jehova's Witnesses are also represented in the city by single congregations.

Liepaja has wide educational resources and long traditions of Soviet education, but most well educated young people leave the city because of lack of high-technology and prospective firms and low wages. City has 21 kindergartens, 8 Latvian schools, 5 Russian schools, 1 school with mixed language of education, 1 evening school, 2 music schools and two internat schools. Interest education for children and youth is available in 8 municipal institutions: Children and Youth Centre, Youth Centre, Centre for Young Technicians, Art and Creation Centre "Vaduguns", Complex Sport School, Gymnastics School, Tennis Sports School, Sports School "Daugava" and Basketball Sports School.

Higher and professional education in Liepaja represented by:

University of Liepaja
Riga Technical University Liepaja branch
Baltic Russian Institute Liepaja branch
School of Business Administration Turiba Liepaja branch
Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy Liepaja branch
Liepaja Applied Art School
Liepaja Marine College
Liepaja Medical College
Liepaja 48 College
Liepaja 31 College