This is a timeline of Latvian history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Latvia and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Latvia. See also the list of presidents of Latvia.
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 650 |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 750 | In the legendary Battle of Brávellir Curonians were fighting at the side of Sigurd Hring, king of Sweden, and Livonians under their duke Ger (Ger Livicus) at the side of Harald Wartooth, king of Denmark. According to Norna-Gests þáttr Sigurd Hring fought against the invading Curonians (Kúrir) in the southern part of what today is Sweden[1] | ||
| before 800 | The ancient Balts began to form specific tribal realms. |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800 | The Curonians had rebelled against the Swedes and refused to pay them tribute. | ||
| 850 | The Danish king marshalled a great fleet and sailed to Courland in order to take over their goods and to make the Curonians pay tribute to instead. The Curonians gathered forces from all five of their towns and butchered half the Danish army and plundered their war ships. | ||
| 854 | King Olaf of Sweden with 7,000 armed men attacked towns of Seeburg and Apulia. Curonians declared that they wished to be the subjects of the Swedish kings as in former times. | ||
| 870 | The legendary Danish king Hadingus wages wars in the Baltic and achieves victory against Curonian tyrant Loker (Loker, Curetum tyrannus) and king Handwanus of Duna (Duna urbs). | ||
| 890 | The Curonian king Dorno (Curetum rex Dorno), one of the legendary kings in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum, fights against the legendary Danish king Frotho I. |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 925 | Egils Saga describes the expedition of Icelandic vikings Thorolf and Egill Skallagrímsson by the Eastern route (Austrvegr), where they won much wealth and had many battles. In Courland they made a peace for half a month and traded with the men of the land.[2] | ||
| 950 | The Norse prince Ragnvald (Rogvolod of Polatsk) came from overseas and subjugated hillforts along the river of Daugava. His capital was established at Polatsk. |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| before 1100 | The borders of the Baltic realms of Courland, Semigallia, Tālava, Koknese and Jersika (known as Lettia) became settled. Latvia |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1106 | Semigallians completely destroyed united armies of the sons of Prince Vseslav of Polotsk in the lowlands of Daugava. | |
| 1111 | Prince of Novgorod Mstislav Vladimirovich invaded eastern part of Tālava (Adzele) and Ugandi. | |
| 1180 | Prince Mstislav Rostislavich led the Novgorodians against the Letts of Tālava. | |
| 1184 | The monk Saint Meinhard began missionary work among the Livonian people. | |
| 1186 | Meinhard was appointed bishop of Livonia by the Pope. | |
| 1198 | Bishop Berthold of Hanover arrived at the mouth of the Daugava River accompanied by crusaders and was killed in battle with Livonians. | |
| 1199 | Albert of Riga was elected the third bishop of Livonia. | |
| Pope Innocent III proclaimed a second Baltic Crusade. |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1201 | Albert founded Riga on the site of earlier Livonian settlement. | ||
| 1202 | The Catholic military order of Livonian Brothers of the Sword was founded by Bishop Albert. | ||
| 1206 | |||
| 1217 | The Brothers of the Sword and their Livonian and Latgalian allies defeated Estonians at the Battle of St. Matthew's Day near Viljandi. | ||
| 1229 | Bishop Albert died. | ||
| 1236 | Battle of Saule The Brothers of the Sword were defeated in the Land of Saule (terra Sauleorum) by combined forces of Samogitians and Semigallians. | ||
| 1242 | Alexander Nevsky defeated the Livonian Order on Lake Peipus. | ||
| 1255 | The Bishopric at Riga was elevated to become the Archbishopric of Riga. | ||
| 1282 | Riga became a member of the Hanseatic League. |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1378 | The Livonian Order raided Upytė, and another campaign threatened the Lithuanian capital in Vilnius. |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1422 | A Livonian Diet first met. | ||
| 1452 | The Livonian Order and Archbishopric of Riga began to rule jointly in Livonia. | ||
| 1481 | Muscovy attacked Livonia. |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1501 | The Livonian Order, aided by Lithuania, launched an attack on Pskov. | ||
| 1502 | Russian troops were defeated at the Battle of Lake Smolina near Palkino. | ||
| 1558 | Ivan the Terrible launched an attack on Livonia. | ||
| 1561 | Livonian War | ||
| 1569 | Lithuania and Poland joined to form the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Livonia became a joint domain administered directly by both realms. |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1629 | The Peace of Altmark was reached, under which Sweden annexed Livonia and several Courland territories to Swedish Livonia. | ||
| 1689 | The Old and New Testaments were published in Latvian translation by Pastor Ernst Glück. | ||
| 1700 | Great Northern War A war began which involved the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sweden, and Russia. |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1710 | Riga fell to the Russians, though Courland remained under the control of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. | ||
| 1721 | Great Northern War The Treaty of Nystadt ended the war. |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1841 | A famine occurred in Livonia. | ||
| 1873 | The first Latvian Song and Dance Festival took place. | ||
| 1887 | Russification measures began in the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire. |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1905 | 13 January | Russian army troops opened fire on demonstrators in Riga, killing seventy-three and injuring two hundred people. |
| A revolution took place in the Baltic region directed primarily against German landowners and Russian autocracy. | ||
| 1914 | 1 August | World War I The war began. |
| 1918 | 18 November | An independent Latvia was proclaimed. |
| 1919 | Latvian rouble currency introduced.[3] | |
| 1920 | 11 August | The Latvian–Soviet Peace Treaty was signed. |
| 1921 | 22 September | Latvia became a member of the League of Nations. |
| 1922 | February | A Latvian constitution was adopted. |
| 1934 | 15 May | Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis took power in a bloodless coup d'état. |
| 1939 | 23 August | The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was signed between the Soviet Union (USSR) and Nazi Germany. |
| 1940 | 16 June | An ultimatum was presented by the USSR to Latvia. |
| 17 June | Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 Soviet troops occupied the country. | |
| 5 August | Latvia was incorporated into the Soviet Union, becoming the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). | |
| 1941 | 14 June | The first mass deportations of Latvians to various sites in the Soviet Union began. |
| 1 July | Occupation of Latvia by Nazi Germany Nazi troops occupied Riga. | |
| 1944 | October | Occupation of Latvia by Soviet Union 1944-1945 The Soviet army reentered Riga. |
| 1955 | About thirty thousand deportees returned to Latvia from the USSR under a general amnesty. | |
| 1981 | The modern Vanšu Bridge was opened across the Daugava River in Riga. | |
| 1987 | 14 June | The first demonstration in Riga to commemorate the 1941 deportations took place. |
| 1988 | 23 August | Mass demonstrations took place against the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. |
| 1990 | 4 May | The Latvian SSR Supreme Council adopted the declaration On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia. |
| 1991 | January | The Barricades Pro-Communist political forces attempted to restore Soviet power in Latvia. |
| 6 September | The Soviet Union recognized Latvian independence. | |
| 17 September | Latvia became a member of the United Nations. |
| Year | Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 29 March | Latvia became a member of NATO. | |
| 1 May | Latvia became a member of European Union. | ||
| 2014 | 1 January | Latvia became a member of Eurozone. |