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

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

) – 7 December 1891 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

) was a writer, editor, educator, politician,

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

, folklorist and economist, the spiritual leader of

The First Latvian National Awakening 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, a group of well-educated Latvians, who, opposed to the Baltic German dom ...

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, Courland,

). He was the son of a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

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 ...

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 (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-f ...

and started his studies at 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 ...

(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 known as a calling card, is a small card used for social purposes. Before the 18th century, visitors making social calls left handwritten notes at the home of friends who were not at home. By the 1760s, the upper classes in ...

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, and Valdemārs' act has been compared with

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

's posting of the

95 Theses The ''Ninety-five Theses'' or ''Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences''-The title comes from the 1517 Basel pamphlet printing. The first printings of the ''Theses'' use an incipit rather than a title which summarizes the content ...

at the door of the

Castle Church All Saints' Church, commonly referred to as ''Schlosskirche'' (Castle Church) to distinguish it from the '' Stadtkirche'' (Town Church) of St. Mary's – and sometimes known as the Reformation Memorial Church – is a Lutheran church in Wittenberg, ...

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...

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 Latvian language. He was one of the members of ...

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

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

. After graduation in 1858 he moved to

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

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 (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 ...

rule and the remnants of

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

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 (pronounced ; et, Heinaste) is a port town in Limbaži Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. The town is located near the Estonian border on the site of an ancient Livonian fishing village. Before 1917, it was known by its Ge ...

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 of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

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

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

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 alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...

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

Baltic Germans 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 declin ...

, 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 Courland Governorate Latvian writers Latvian politicians 19th-century Latvian people 19th-century writers from the Russian Empire Politicians of the Russian Empire University of Tartu alumni 19th-century Latvian politicians