Krišjānis Valdemārs (in Germanized spelling as Christian Waldemar or Woldemar) (2 December 1825 at Vecjunkuri in Ārlava parish (now Valdgale parish,

Courland 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 ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

) – 7 December 1891 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

) was a writer, editor,

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, politician,

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries. * The ...

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

and economist, the spiritual leader of

The First Latvian National Awakening The First Latvian National Awakening or the First Awakening () was a cultural and national revival movement between 1850 and 1880 among the Young Latvians, a group of well-educated Latvians, who, opposed to the Baltic Germans, Baltic German domi ...

and the most prominent member of the Young Latvians movement.

Biography

Krišjānis Valdemārs was born on 2 December 1825 at Vecjunkuri homestead, Ārlava parish (now Valdgale parish,

). He was the son of a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

curate Mārtiņš Valdemārs. He graduated from local

parish school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wor ...

and worked as a teacher in Sasmaka (now named Valdemārpils in his honor). Later he worked as a parish secretary in Rundāle and Ēdole parish. In 1854 he graduated from gymnasium in

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

and started his studies at the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; ; ) is a public research university located in the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is also the largest and oldest university in the country.

(then Dorpat). His main subject and interest were economics. While studying there he became known with the first public declaration of Latvian nationality. He affixed a

visiting card A visiting card, also called a calling card, was a small, decorative card that was carried by individuals to present themselves to others. It was a common practice in the 18th and 19th century, particularly among the upper classes, to leave a visi ...

to his door that read "''C. Woldemar stud. cam. Latweetis.''" At the time, it was almost unheard of for an educated person to call himself a Latvian; education meant

Germanisation Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people, and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In l ...

, and Valdemārs' act has been compared with

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

's posting of the 95 Theses at the door of the Castle Church in

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

in its importance for the birth of Latvian nationalism. Valdemārs is seen as the spiritual father of the First Awakening. With

Juris Alunāns Juris Alunāns (official name Gustavs Georgs Frīdrihs Alunāns; May 13, 1832 – April 18, 1864) was a Latvian writer and philologist in the Russian Empire. He was one of the first contributors of the Latvian language. He was one of the members ...

, he led Latvian student gatherings while in Tartu and advocated the study of

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

. After graduation in 1858 he moved to

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and worked as a clerk in Ministry of Finance. Also he was a correspondent in local German-language newspaper '' St. Petersburgische Zeitung''. In 1862 he became editor and main publisher of the Latvian newspaper '' Pēterburgas Avīzes'' which was hitherto the most radical Latvian newspaper. It strongly opposed

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

rule and the remnants of

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

in Baltic provinces. The newspaper became the main platform for Young Latvian ideas. It was closed by the Russian authorities in 1865. In 1864 Valdemārs helped establish the first Latvian naval school in

Ainaži Ainaži (; is a Latvian port town by the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. Administratively, it is part of the Limbaži Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It is located on the south side of the Estonia-Latvia international border, on ...

as a way of making Latvians rich. At its opening he uttered the famous phrase "''Brauciet, latvji, jūriņā, krājiet zeltu pūriņā!''" (Latvians, sail the seas, stuff your dowry with gold). Many other Latvian naval schools was established during the next years in the coastal towns of Latvia. It had big influence on local economy and culture because hundreds of Latvian peasant sons had a chance to get education for free and become

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

or steersmen. It led to the "Age of Sailors" in Latvia as active

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

started in coastal towns and villages and those Latvian-built, Latvian-owned and -crewed ships became the first national merchant fleet which was even involved in trans-Atlantic voyages. Valdemārs published a Latvian-Russian-German

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged Alphabetical order, alphabetically (or by Semitic root, consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical-and-stroke sorting, radical an ...

in 1879. In later life Valdemārs was mostly involved in polemics with

Baltic Germans Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their resettlement in 1945 after the end of World War II, Baltic Germans have drastically decli ...

, popularized seafaring and edited the first Latvian naval dictionary. Valdemārs died on 7 December 1891 in Moscow. He is buried in Riga's Great Cemetery. One of the main streets in Riga is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdemars, Krisjanis 1825 births 1891 deaths category:People from Talsi Municipality People from Talsi county 19th-century Latvian writers 19th-century writers from the Russian Empire Politicians from the Russian Empire 19th-century Latvian politicians University of Tartu alumni