Līva () was a famous river in

Kurzeme 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 ...

in today's

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 ...

. It was located between the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

and

Liepāja Lake Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a 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 important ice-free port. In the ...

and had a length of about 6 kilometres and a width near the mouth of about 50 metres. The source of the Līva was located in

near the former Pērkone river. The place where the Līva fell into the Baltic Sea was located approximately at the site of today's northern harbour 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 ...

. The river had one known island, Perkunen (); it was located near the source of the river. The Līva served as a water trade way to

Grobiņa Grobiņa (; ) is a town in South Kurzeme Municipality in the Courland region of Latvia, eleven kilometers east of Liepāja. It was founded by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century. Some ruins of their Grobina castle are still visible. The ...

via the Liepāja lake and the port was located on it. The original suburb with a name Līva was located about 1 kilometre from the mouth of the river on both sides of it. The old name for the city Liepāja descends from the name of the river and for the centuries was associated with it. The part of the river near the mouth had become too shallow by the end of the 15th century. In the 16th century, the first Līva channel was dug up between Līva and Baltic Sea with a length of about 780 metres and a width of 50 metres. In 1697–1703, the new Trade channel was dug up and few years later the river was filled up.

Etymology

The German name ''Lyva'' () derived from

Livonian language Livonian ( or ) is a Finnic language whose native land is the Livonian Coast of the Gulf of Riga, located in the north of the Kurzeme peninsula in Latvia but also used to be spoken in the Salaca River valley. Although its last known native ...

''liiv'' – sand. The other sources offer alternative etymology for the name, Liva is the old name of

or a derivative from the

Mari language The Mari language (, ; rus, марийский язык, p=mɐˈrʲijskʲɪj jɪˈzɨk), formerly known as the Cheremiss language, spoken by approximately 400,000 people, belongs to the Uralic languages, Uralic language family. It is spoken pr ...

''lya'' (''lyva'') – sand shore, sand spit.

History

The territory of the present day Latvia was cleared from the ice in about 8000 BC, in the same period the river was formed. The territory near the river, on the present territory of

was populated by the Baltic-Slavic

Venedi Veneti or Venedi may refer to: *Veneti (Gaul), an ancient Celtic tribe described by classical sources as living in what is now Brittany, France *Adriatic Veneti, an ancient historical Italic people of northeastern Italy, who spoke an Italic langua ...

tribes (West-Baltic barrow culture) from the 1st millennium BC. Līva was not mentioned by the

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

among the rivers of Latvia known to Romans – Rudon, Turuntes and Chesinos. Later, after the 5th century the territory near the

was inhabited by the

Curonians :''The Kursenieki are also sometimes known as Curonians.'' The Curonians or Kurs (; ) were a medieval Balts, Baltic tribe living on the shores of the Baltic Sea in the 5th–16th centuries, in what are now western parts of Latvia and Lithuania. ...

(Letts) and was Danish colony. The first known source mentioning people visited neighborhood of the river are found in

Rimbert Saint Rimbert (or Rembert) (''c.'' 830 - 11 June 888 in Bremen) was archbishop of Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, Hamburg-Bremen, in the northern part of the East Francia, Kingdom of East Frankia from 865 until his death in 888. He most famously wr ...

Vita Ansgari The ''Vita Ansgarii'', also known as the ''Vita Anskarii'', is the hagiography of saint Ansgar, written by Rimbert, his successor as archbishop in the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. The ''Vita'' is an important source not only in detailing Ansgar ...

when the

Olof (I) of Sweden Olof (Old Norse: ''Óláfr'') was a Swedish monarch or local ruler who ruled over Birka, an important port town, and possibly Uppsala, an important early Swedish political center, in about 852, when the Catholic missionary Saint Ansgar made his se ...

begin a war with the

in 856 AD, after the war the territory come to the control of Swedes. The name Līva for the first time was mentioned in 1263. In 1424 year the river was described by the French knight Guillebert de Lannoy. In 1581 Prussian land surveyor Athier Wrenfoldt drew up the first map where the river Līva was shown.

Descriptions

The earliest known written document mentioned name Līva in 1263, in which was prohibited to build dams on the river. Līva was also mentioned in the documents about lending of the territory of the Perkunen island by the Courland bishop Otto to Vedig fon Sacken in 1384, where the river was named spring. Some historical documents about earlier period of the Līva river and the city Liepāja are found in Lehnbriefs acts, written in Latin language and are available from the

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

Herder Institute, mostly in the Bauer's German translation of the 16th century and are stored in Geheime Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz managed by the

Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (; SPK) is a German federal government body that oversees 27 museums and cultural organizations in and around Berlin, Germany. Its purview includes all of Berlin's State Museums, the Berlin State Librar ...

Misinterpretations

For a long time the name Līva was incorrectly associated with the northern sleeve of the delta of the river

Bārta Bārta (in Latvian), also named Bartuva (in Lithuanian), is a river in western Lithuania and Latvia. It originates in the Plungė district, 3 km to north of Lake Plateliai. The Bārta flows in a northwesterly direction, passing through ...

between the

and the

. It was mentioned several times by different travelers and historians of the

Medieval Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, especially by Eberhard von Zeine, Burkhard von Hornhausen and

Guillebert de Lannoy Guillebert de Lannoy (also Gilbert, Guilbert or Ghillebert; 1386–1462), was a Flemings, Flemish traveler and diplomat, chamberlain to the duke of Burgundy, governor of the fort of Sluys, and a knight of the Golden Fleece. He was the son of G ...

in 1423–1424. The other incorrect opinion was, that the

Amber Route The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade. ...

passed near the river, it probably passed near the river Bārta.

Today remains

At the site of the former watercourse near the Dienvidrietumu rajon in Liepāja in the 20th century was dug up a pond similar to the mouthpiece. In the port of Liepāja are located two memorial stones marking the former bed of the river. On the place of the former channel of Līva in the 19th century was built a swan pond with a

rotunda A rotunda () is any roofed building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (an example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). ...

on the small island (), the most famous tourist location in Liepaja. Also a Līvu beer is produced.

Other rivers with the similar names

* Liwa is a river in Poland. Its source is located in the Gaudy Lake near the city Kaminiec, it flow through Liwieniec Lake near Prabuty in Poland and fall into river Nogat. * Liva is a river in the Murmansk Region of Russia, the source is located in the Kolka region, flows through Livozero, falls into Verhnee Chalmozero.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liva (River) Former rivers Liepāja