Latvians or Letts (Latvian: latvieši), the indigenous Baltic people of Latvia, occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of Latvji, which may have originated from the word Latve which is a name of the river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia. A small Finnic-speaking tribe known as the Livs settled among the Latvians and modulated the name to "Latvis," meaning "forest-clearers," which is how medieval German settlers also referred to these peoples. The German colonizers changed this name to "Lette" and called their initially small colony Livland. The Latin form, Livonia, gradually referred to the whole territory of the modern-day Latvia as well as southern Estonia, which had fallen under German dominion. Latvians and Lithuanians are the only surviving members of the Baltic peoples and Baltic languages of the Indo-European family. Lutheranism is a movement within Christianity that began with the theological insights of Martin Luther in the 16th century. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ... http://www. ... Baltic-Finnic languages are a subgroup of Finno-Ugric languages, spoken around the Baltic Sea by about 6 million people. ... The Livonians are the indigenous inhabitants of a large part of what is today the Republic of Latvia. ... This article is about the region in Europe. ... Livonia (Latvian: Livonija; Estonian: Liivimaa; German: Livland; Swedish: Livland; Polish: Inflanty; Russian: Лифляндия or Lifljandija) once was the land of the Finnic Livonians, but came in the Middle Ages to designate a much broader territory controlled by the Livonian Order on the eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea in present-day... The Baltic Sea The Balts or Baltic peoples have lived around the eastern coast of Mare Suebicum, or Baltic Sea (Tacitus, AD 98) since ancient times. ... The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. ...

Latvian culture has expierenced historical, cultural and religious influences, over centuries during Germanic and Scandinavian colonization and settlement. Eastern Latvia (Latgale), however, retains a strong Polish and Russian cultural and linguistic influence. This highly literate society places strong emphasis upon education, which is free and compulsory until age 16. Most Latvians belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, but a small minority is Russian Orthodox, and Eastern Latvia (Latgale) is predominantly Roman Catholic. Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. ... Latgale or Latgalia (Latvian: , Latgalian: Latgola; Polish: Łatgalia; German: Lettgallen; Russian: Латгалия) is one of the four cultural regions of Latvia recognised in the Constitution of the Latvian Republic. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... The Russian Orthodox Church (Русская Православная церковь) is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with... Latgale or Latgalia (Latvian: , Latgalian: Latgola; Polish: Łatgalia; German: Lettgallen; Russian: Латгалия) is one of the four cultural regions of Latvia recognised in the Constitution of the Latvian Republic. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

Latvians speak the Latvian language. The Soviet Union imposed the official use of Russian language, so most adult Latvians speak Russian as a second language. Latvian (latvieÅ¡u valoda), sometimes referred to as Lettish, is the official state language of the Republic of Latvia. ... Russian ( , tr. ...

See also

• List of Latvians
• Demographics of Latvia
• Latgalians
• Curonians
• Kursi
• Semigallians