The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Christian military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the pagan Baltic, Finnic and West Slavic peoples around the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, and also against Orthodox Christian East Slavs.
Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were formerly held by the same duke.
Talsi is a town in Latvia. It is the administrative centre of Talsi Municipality. It is nicknamed the "green pearl of Courland".
Tukums is a town in the Zemgale region of Latvia.
Dundaga is a village in Talsi Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia. From 2009 until 2021, the village served as the administrative centre of the former Dundaga Municipality.
The Curonian colonization of the Americas was performed by the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, which was the second-smallest state to colonise the Americas, after the Knights of Malta. It had a colony on the island of Tobago from 1654 to 1659 and intermittently from 1660 to 1689.
Baltic German nobility was a privileged social class in the territories of today's Estonia and Latvia. It has existed continuously since the Northern Crusades and the medieval foundation of Terra Mariana. Most of the nobility were Baltic Germans, but with the changing political landscape over the centuries, Polish, Swedish and Russian families also became part of the nobility, just as Baltic German families re-settled in locations such as the Swedish and Russian Empires. The nobility of Lithuania is for historical, social and ethnic reasons separated from the German-dominated nobility of Estonia and Latvia.
Saunags is a populated place in Kolka Parish, Talsi Municipality, Latvia, located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the Cape Kolka, within the borders of Slītere National Park. The name derived from Livonian Sǟnag – pike perch (Sander), a local fish. First mentioned in documents in 1310, it is the oldest of the twelve Livonian villages on the Livonian Coast. It consists of two parts - Saunags and Dižsaunags, the later being the oldest and more preserved one. Located along the coast of the Baltic Sea and formerly inhabited by Livonian people.
The Bishopric of Courland was the second smallest (4500 km2) ecclesiastical state in the Livonian Confederation founded in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade. During the Livonian War in 1559 the bishopric became a possession of Denmark, and in 1585 sold by Denmark to Poland–Lithuania.
The Livonian crusade consists of the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – modern Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal-sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was conducted mostly by the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Denmark. It ended with the creation of Terra Mariana and the Danish duchy of Estonia. The lands on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea were one of the last parts of Europe to be Christianised. The available information is largely based on Livonian Chronicle of Henry.
Cīrava Palace is located in the village of Cīrava, Cīrava Parish, South Kurzeme Municipality, Latvia. It is a national architecture monument included in the list of the culture monuments under state protection. The oldest county administrative documents relating to the subsequent estate are no longer found in publications or extracts from the Baltic German historians archives.
Ēdole Castle is a Gothic Revival castle situated on the banks of Ēdole Lake, Ēdole parish, in the historical region of Courland, western Latvia. Originally consisting of two residential buildings linked by a stone wall, the castle is surrounded by landscape park. It is considered an architectural and archaeological monument of national importance.
Īvande Manor, also called Lielīvande Manor, is a manor house in Īvande parish in Kuldīga municipality in the historical region of Courland, in western Latvia.
Ezere Manor, also called Lielezere Manor, is a manor house in the historical region of Courland, in western Latvia near the border with Lithuania. Ezere Manor house, constructed in 18th-19th centuries, is an architectural monument of national importance.
Aizpute Castle is a Livonian Order castle in the town of Aizpute in the historical region of Courland, in western Latvia. It was heavily damaged during the Second Northern War (1655–1660). Since 1998, the castle ruins are a Latvian historical monument.
Sigulda Medieval Castle ruins are located on the edge of the Gauja valley in Latvia. The original castle was built in 1207 as a castellum type fortress, later rebuilt into a convent type building. The residence of the Land Marshal of the Livonian Order since 1432.
Līva was a famous river in Kurzeme in today's Latvia. It was located between the Baltic Sea and Liepāja Lake and had a length of about 6 kilometres and a width near the mouth of about 50 metres. The source of the Līva was located in Liepāja Lake near the former Pērkone river. The place where the Līva fell into the Baltic Sea was located approximately at the site of today's northern harbour in Liepāja. The river had one known island, Perkunen ; it was located near the source of the river. The Līva served as a water trade way to Grobiņa via the Liepāja lake and the port was located on it. The original suburb with a name Līva was located about 1 kilometre from the mouth of the river on both sides of it. The old name for the city Liepāja descends from the name of the river and for the centuries was associated with it. The part of the river near the mouth had become too shallow by the end of the 15th century. In the 16th century, the first Līva channel was dug up between Līva and Baltic Sea with a length of about 780 metres and a width of 50 metres. In 1697–1703, the new Trade channel was dug up and few years later the river was filled up.
The Curonians or Kurs were a medieval Baltic tribe living on the shores of the Baltic Sea in the 5th–16th centuries, in what are now western parts of Latvia and Lithuania. They eventually merged with other Baltic tribes contributing to the ethnogenesis of present-day Latvians and Lithuanians. Curonians gave their name to the region of Courland (Kurzeme), and they spoke the Curonian language.
Terra Mariana was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia. It was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade, and its territories were composed of present-day Estonia and Latvia. It was established on 2 February 1207, as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire, and lost this status in 1215 when Pope Innocent III proclaimed it as directly subject to the Holy See.
Piltene Castle is a Bishopric of Courland castle in the town of Piltene in the historical region of Courland, in western Latvia. Until the 16th century it served as a capital of Bishopric of Courland.
