Livonian coast

The Livonian coast in northern Kurzeme is a surviving fragment of the ancient ethnic area of ​​the Livs . Until the First World War, communication between the Libyan settlements was carried out along forest and country roads, as well as by sea. By the sea, however, fairly close contacts of the Livs with related Estonians , as well as with the island of Gotland, were made . In Saunags, Pitrags and Mazirbe, the remains of the berths have been preserved. In Kolka there is an active pier.

In 1562-1795. The Livonian coast was part of the Duchy of Courland and Zemgale , which was in vassal dependence on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth , and then, in 1795, ceded to the Russian Crown.

In 1851, the Libyan alphabet was created. In 1861, the first dictionary of the Libyan language was released. In 1863, the Gospel of Matthew was translated into the Libyan language ^[2] . In 1884, the Mikelbak lighthouse was built, whose height was 62 m. It is the highest lighthouse in the Baltic States ^[3] .

During the First World War, the Livonian coast became the scene of hostilities. In 1915, about 2 thousand inhabitants were evacuated from here, as a result of which the number of Livs living in their native land fell by 1225 to 1238 by 1925. In 1917-1918 the German army built a narrow gauge railway behind the dunes (600 mm wide, intended mainly for transporting wood). The railway connected Pitrags, Mazirbe and Lielirbe with Dundaga .

The collapse of the Russian Empire gave nothing to the Livs. The idea of ​​independent Latvia was alien to them. In 1923, the Union of Livs organization was created, which applied to the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia with a request to establish the Libyan National District. But the government of the Republic of Latvia refused them. And then suddenly the star of the “King of the Livs” Uldrikis Kapbergs (Uli Kinkamäga) suddenly ascended, proclaiming the independence of his native coast and ending his days in a Latvian prison from a heart attack.

In the years 1923-1939. some schools of the Livonian coast taught the Livonian language. The only teacher in five schools rode horses from village to village. In 1931, the Libyan patriots founded the newspaper Liivli. In the 1930s, a holiday for the day of kindred peoples was established in neighboring Estonia. On the streets of the cities on this day flags of Estonia, Finland and Hungary were hung out, special classes were held in schools, and divine services were held in churches. The Livs managed to regain contact with Estonia , "build bridges" with the relatives of Hungary and Finland . During the interwar period, Finnish professor L. Kettunen (1885–1963), compiler of a detailed Lebanese-German dictionary (1938) and a monographic description of phonetics and morphology, played a very important role in the study and preservation of the Livonian language. On August 6, 1939, at the expense of funds raised in Finland, Estonia and Hungary, the Libyan People’s House, built by the Finnish architect Erkki Juhani Hutonen, in the style of “Finnish functionalism” was opened in the village of Mazirbe . The same states rendered other feasible support to their kindred Libyan culture. Schools have the opportunity to learn the national language. Libyan choirs began to be created.

Not even a month has passed since the opening of the Libyan House, when the Second World War began . Together with the rest of Latvia, the Livonian coast changed hands three times during this war. After Latvia entered the USSR in 1940, the Union of Livs was liquidated. Massive deportations of residents organized by the Soviet government caused tangible casualties to the Libyan ethnic group at the beginning and in the middle of June 1941.

In 1946, between the Livs and the rest of Europe, the Iron Curtain fell. In March 1949, deportations resumed. Livs deported to Siberia were usually registered as “Latvians”. Systematic arrests and exile continued into the 1950s. Many exiles did not return to Latvia from Siberia and the northern regions of Russia, and not all returned to their original places of residence.

During Soviet times, the Livonian coast, which became the western border zone, was completely inaccessible to foreigners. Border posts, other military units, a tankodrome were located in Liv villages and in the immediate vicinity of them. In the 1950s, wide dirt roads were laid by strategic forces of the Soviet Army along the Libyan coast for strategic purposes.

Collectivization of fishing and agriculture took place. This meant a gradual concentration of fishing, as a traditional branch of activity, in large centers - in Ventspils , Kolka and Roy . Moreover: the communist government, fearing that local Livs might escape from the Soviet Union in their fishing boats (on the same island of Gotland ), limited fishing in coastal waters. A lot of boats were then burned, some got to the "boat cemetery" near Mazirbe .

Meanwhile, Liv pastor Edgars Valgamaa emigrated to Finland made his translation of the New Testament into the Libyan language .

The other traditional sectors of agriculture and handicrafts were destroyed. The railway was closed in 1963 (some of the tracks remained behind the dunes of Saunags, Pitrags, Mazirbe and Lielirbe). Significantly reduced the scope of services (schools, shops, medical facilities). This forced the majority of able-bodied people to leave coastal villages and disperse throughout Latvia, identifying themselves later with Latvians or, less commonly, with Russians. Libyan settlements are increasingly empty, some of them have almost disappeared. The compactness of the Libyan ethnos has also disappeared.

On November 26, 1988, the Union of Livs, closed in 1940, was restored. Until the spring of 1994, the historian I. Neilande was his headman. The “Union of Livs” carries out important cultural and educational work, contributes to the preservation of the Livonian language and cultural values. The Union's focus is on raising the ethnic consciousness of the Livs and restoring ancient life principles. His organizational activities are determined by the desire to create in the historical places of residence of the Livs on the northern coast of Kurzeme such conditions that those Livs who, for various reasons, were forced to leave their homeland, wanted to return there for permanent residence and work. The Union of Livs sponsors ethnographic tourism.

In accordance with the decision of the Council of Ministers of Latvia on February 4, 1992 ^{[4] the} Livonian coast was declared a protected cultural and historical territory. One of the initiators of this legislative act was the economist E. Silis, who became director of the Livonian Coast. In the security zone there are twelve Lebanese settlements:

• Puddle ( Latvian. Lūžņa , Liv. Lūž )
• Mikeltornis ( Latvian: Miķeļtornis , Liv. Pizā )
• Lielirbe ( Latvian. Lielirbe , liv. Īra )
• Jaunciems ( Latvian: Jaunciems , Liv. Ūžkilā )
• Sikrags ( Latvian Sīkrags , Libyan Sīkrõg )
• Mazirbe ^[5] ( Latvian: Mazirbe , Liv. Irē )
• Koshrags ( Latvian. Košrags , Libyan . Kuoštrõg )
• Saunags ( Latvian. Saunags , liv. Sǟnag )
• Weide ( Latvian. Vaide , Liv. Vaid )
• Kolka ( Latvian: Kolka , Liv. Kūolka )
• Pitrags ( Latvian. Pitrags , Liv. Pitrõg )
• Melnsils ( Latvian: Melnsils , Liv. Mustānum )

The security status provided for restrictions on permanent residence in this area for all who are not direct descendants of the Livs, including ethnic Latvians ^{[6] [7]} .

There are also legal restrictions on new construction and reconstruction of historic Liv villages. These restrictions apply to tourist services: it is forbidden to build hotels, restaurants, as well as any other private or public facilities that can negatively affect the traditional way of life and culture of the Livs ^[8] .

In 2003, the decision to create the territory of the Livonian Coast was declared null and void. ^[9] However, reference to the special status of the territory is retained in Section 18 of the State Language Law . In 2009-2011, a dirt road was modernized (as part of the Kolka project, financed by the EU Ventspils company). A section of the railway line in Mazirbe is used as a tourist attraction. There is a summer children's camp in Mazirba where Libyan children can get acquainted with the language and culture of their ancestors. Every year, on the first Saturday of August, a national holiday is held here: the Livs put on folk costumes and sing old songs.