The First Latvian National Awakening or the First Awakening ( lv, Pirmā Atmoda) was a cultural and national revival movement between 1850 and 1880 among the
Young Latvians
New Latvians ( lv, jaunlatvieši) is the term most often applied to the intellectuals of the First Latvian National Awakening ( lv, Tautas atmoda), active from the 1850s to the 1880s. The movement was modeled on the Young Germany (german: Jung ...
, a group of well-educated
Latvians
Latvians ( lv, latvieši) are a Baltic ethnic group and nation native to Latvia and the immediate geographical region, the Baltics. They are occasionally also referred to as Letts, especially in older bibliography. Latvians share a common L ...
, who, opposed to the
Baltic German
Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
dominance in
Livonia
Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...
and
Courland Governorate
The Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland, Governorate of Kurland (german: Kurländisches Gouvernement; russian: Курля́ндская губерния, translit=Kurljándskaja gubernija; lv, Kurzemes guberņa; lt, K ...
s, created the basis for the modern Latvian nation state. It was influenced by the European
romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
movements of
Young Germans and
Czech National Revival
The Czech National Revival was a cultural movement which took place in the Czech lands during the 18th and 19th centuries. The purpose of this movement was to revive the Czech language, culture and national identity. The most prominent figures o ...
. Most of their efforts were spent on educating Latvians, criticizing Germans and removing the stigma from Latvian language, traditions and culture.
The movement started after 1850 in the
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
, which then was the highest place of education in Livonian Governorate and was attended by around 30 ethnic Latvian students.
Krišjānis Valdemārs
Krišjānis Valdemārs (in Germanized spelling as Christian Waldemar or Woldemar) (2 December 1825 at Vecjunkuri in Ārlava parish (now Valdgale parish, Courland, Latvia) – 7 December 1891 in Moscow, Russia) was a writer, editor, educator, poli ...
, a student from Courland, posted in his dorm room a note identifying himself as a Latvian, which was unheard of at the time. Very soon a group of 10-13 students grew around him; they organized “Latvian evenings”, during which they debated about the condition of German-oppressed Latvians.
Juris Alunāns and
Krišjānis Barons
Krišjānis Barons (October 31, 1835 – March 8, 1923) was a Latvian writer who is known as the "father of the dainas" ( lv, "Dainu Tēvs") thanks largely to his systematization of the Latvian folk songs and his labour in preparing their tex ...
soon became leading members.
They established the newspapers ''
Mājas Viesis'' and ''
Pēterburgas Avīzes''. The movement initially was supported by Russian authorities, who saw it as a tool against the German-dominated Baltic provinces.
In 1868, Young Latvian
Fricis Brīvzemnieks
Fricis is a Latvian masculine give name. It is derived from the name Frīdrihs (a cognate of Frederick) and the associated name day is November 14.
Notable people named Fricis
*Fricis Apšenieks (1894–1941), Latvian chess master
*Fricis Bā ...
began gathering Latvian folk songs known as
dainas. His work was continued by
Krišjānis Barons
Krišjānis Barons (October 31, 1835 – March 8, 1923) was a Latvian writer who is known as the "father of the dainas" ( lv, "Dainu Tēvs") thanks largely to his systematization of the Latvian folk songs and his labour in preparing their tex ...
, who in 1894 published the first book of dainas and eventually become known as the Father of Dainas (''Dainutēvs'').
Another literary activist was teacher
Atis Kronvalds
Atis Kronvalds or Kronvaldu Atis (15 April 1837 – 17 February 1875) was a Latvian writer, linguist and pedagogue, as well as a prominent member of the Young Latvia movement.
Early life
Kronvalds was born to a tailor family, but was raised b ...
, who discovered mention of a red-white-red flag in the 13th-century
Livonian Rhymed Chronicle
The ''Livonian Rhymed Chronicle'' (german: Livländische Reimchronik) is a chronicle written in Middle High German by an anonymous author. It covers the period 1180 – 1343 and contains a wealth of detail about Livonia — modern South Estonia a ...
. These colors eventually became the
flag of Latvia
The national flag of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas karogs) was used by independent Latvia from 1918 until the country was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Its use was suppressed during Soviet rule. On 27 February 1990, shortly before the country ...
. Kronvalds worked tirelessly on promoting education among Latvians, and modernized the Latvian language by creating many new words.
In 1868, initially, as a charity organization for helping victims of Estonian crop failure, the
Riga Latvian Society
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Bal ...
was established, which organized Latvian cultural life in Riga and regions.
The first Latvian theatre troupe led by
Ādolfs Alunāns
Adolfs Alunāns (11 October 1848 – 5 July 1912) was a Latvian actor, director and playwright. For his efforts and hard work in progressing Latvian Dramaturgy he received the title “father of Latvian theater”. In 1968, the Jelgava's Adolf A ...
was established here, which led to the birth of playwriting in Latvian.
In 1873, the
first Latvian singing festival was held in Riga, during which most of the songs were Latvian folk songs. Of the new songs performed there, one of them, composed by
Baumaņu Kārlis, later became the
national anthem of Latvia. Fearing the growth of nationalism, its original name of “God, bless Latvia!” was changed by Russian censors to “God, bless the Baltics!”.
In 1888, the national epic
Lāčplēsis
''Lāčplēsis'' ("The Bear-Slayer") is an epic poem by Andrejs Pumpurs, a Latvian poet, who wrote it between 1872 and 1887 based on local legends. It's set during the Livonian Crusades telling the story of the mythical hero Lāčplēsis "the ...
, written by
Andrejs Pumpurs, was first published.
The First Awakening was a cultural movement mostly among the well-educated classes and soon ran out of momentum as Latvian society became more mature and interested in new political and scientific ideas. Many of the leading Young Latvians died early or worked in Russia, away from their home. Latvians also experienced a wave of
Russianization
Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultu ...
during which use of Latvian in schools was prohibited.
The First Awakening was followed by the
New Current
The New Current ( lv, Jaunā strāva) in the history of Latvia was a broad leftist social and political movement that followed the First Latvian National Awakening (led by the Young Latvians from the 1850s to the 1880s) and culminated in the 190 ...
(''Jaunā strāva'') movement, which was much more political and led to the establishment of the Social Democratic Party.
The First Awakening's interest in folklore was carried on by the
Baltic neopagan movement
Dievturība
Dievturība is a neopagan movement which is a modern revival of the ethnic religion of the Latvians before Christianization in the 13th century. Adherents call themselves Dievturi (singular: Dievturis), literally "Dievs' keepers", "people who l ...
, which was created in the 1920s by
Ernests Brastiņš
Ernests Brastiņš (19 March 1892 – 28 January 1942) was a Latvian artist, amateur historian, folklorist and archaeologist. He is known as the founder and driving force behind the neopagan religion Dievturība, which he started in the 1920s and ...
and Kārlis Marovskis-Bregžis.
References
19th century in Latvia
National revivals
{{DEFAULTSORT:First Latvian National Awakening, The