Latvia has been a member of UNESCO since 1991. Some of Latvia's UNESCO recognized sites include the historic center of Riga, which contains old Riga and art nouveau architecture. Another is the Cabinet of Folksongs, which contains over 200,000 pieces of handwritten Latvian folk songs and texts. A third is the Latvian Song and Dance Celebration, a large festival held every five years featuring thousands of performers of choirs, dances, and bands.

1. UNESCO MONUMENTS
RIGA

2. UNESCO IN LATVIA
• Latvia has been a member state of UNESCO since October 14, 1991
• Treasures of Latvia:
– Internationally recognized
• UNESCO World Heritage List
• Intangible Cultural Heritage
• „Memory of the world”
• Member states of UNESCO adopted a resolution on the
building construction project of the new National Library in
1999
– Nationally evaluated
• National List of the World Heritage
• Latvian National Register of UNESCO programme „Memory of
the world”

3. UNESCO IN RIGA
• The historic centre of Riga
• The Cabinet of Folksongs
• Song and Dance Celebration
• The Baltic Way
• Latvian National Library

4. THE HISTORIC CENTRE OF RIGA
• Old Riga
• The block of Art Nouveau
architecture
• Central Market
• Wooden buildings

6. “DAINU SKAPIS” - THE CABINET
OF FOLKSONGS
• It’s a cabinet full of Latvian folklore and folksongs
recorded by handwriting
• They were recorded by Krišjānis Barons (the most
famous editor of Latvian folksongs)
• It was made in 1880 after Baron’s drawings (it is a chest
with 73 drawers)
• 268 815 peaces of paper
• on each of them 4 - 8 lines of folksong or other texts
(riddles, proverbs, beliefs etc.)
• Now this cabinet is in the National Library of Latvia.
• In 2001 Dainu cabinet was inscribed in UNESCO heritage

8. LATVIAN SONG AND DANCE
FESTIVAL
• Since 1873
• Every five years
• Approximately 30 000 performers
• Choirs, dance groups, brass bands, folk groups
• Latvian Youth Song and Dance Festival

10. THE BALTIC WAY
• Human chain linking three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
• August 23, 1989 at 19.00
• More than a million people
• ~600 km chain
• To draw the world’s attention to the historical facts which hit the
Baltic states
• Took place exactly 50 years after the Molotov- Ribbentrop Pact
• https://youtu.be/m-OFydXRu5M?t=3m13s

12. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF LATVIA
• In 1999, Member States of UNESCO General Conference adopted a
resolution on the new National Library of Latvia building project
• Architect Gunārs Birkerts
• It was opened in 2014
• The Castle of Light
• Exterior is based on Rainis play “Golden Horse”. It looks like a glass
mountain in the play
• Book chain