More Such competitions have been taking place in Limbaži for several years and several historical buildings have acquired new facades both in Limbaži itself and in other places within the municipality borders located in the beautiful historical center Latvian Radio met him at one of coastal town Salacgrīva's historical buildings you can feast your eyes on how beautifully the old wooden facades have been renovated that probably says it all," muses Zunde one of the buildings that received support in this project competition is one of the buildings of the former "Limbaži filcs" (Limbaži felt) factory which is now home to an association of the same name. Its leader says that this association unites people who want to improve the area the felt factory had a place where people gathered "We saw an opportunity for the [EU] LEADER projects and then we started saving and restoring this building bit by bit," says Jonele by participating in a competition for the renovation of the facades of historical buildings which has already been used to renovate the building "3,300 euros was the county's money and then plus our work water flowed on our heads when people came to visit; the wall was black What we were able to get in the project was mostly the materials because volunteer work was invested; where we could we were able to clean up and freshen up the "felt," so that's great support," says Jonele a significant part of the wooden buildings from the late 18th and early 19th centuries have been preserved though many are not in particularly good condition. These historic buildings require significant investments head of the Limbaži municipality construction board says that this year the municipality has allocated more money for the renovation of the facades of historical buildings than it did last year "This year we have been given quite a lot of money - 50,000 [euros] so we will be able to support these projects more because last year there was only 10,000 and we could only support three projects with 3,000 euros This competition is dedicated to making people aware that they live in a historical environment that our Limbaži historical center is a monument of national importance and that cultural and historical values ​​are values ​​as such," says Cīrule She also says that a couple of years ago Limbaži celebrated its 800th anniversary "so we are a very old city and in terms of cultural and historical values we have just as much potential as neighboring Cēsis." Therefore this desire of the residents to repair the facades should be supported shows that 10–15 applications are submitted to the competition which are evaluated according to several criteria whether it is located in the historic center whether there is sufficient owner investment – the greater the owner investment "There are many who are repairing facades even without this municipal co-financing there are even greater chances of getting municipal co-financing," explains Cīrule there is no shortage of unkempt houses in the region but this competition is in a way an encouragement for the neighbor to also get interested if the house next door has a new facade "This competition for the renovation of the facades of historic buildings is a carrot because as a building authority we also work with a stick – if there are any unkempt buildings we support those who want to do something with their property," says Cīrule Project applications for the competition can be submitted until April 10 and building owners with real estate located in the territory of Limbaži region can participate Select text and press Ctrl+Enter to send a suggested correction to the editor Select text and press Report a mistake to send a suggested correction to the editor A parachute jump in Limbaži ended rather dramatically for the pilot and passenger of a small aircraft Unable to return to Limbaži or the alternate aerodrome in Cēsis due to weather conditions the small aircraft also failed to reach Rīga Airport and made an emergency landing in a meadow near Babīte.  The pilot of the aircraft explained to the air traffic controller before the accident that he could not see the runway and warned that he was running out of fuel The aircraft took off from Limbaži airfield with skydivers one changed plans and decided not to jump because of the rapidly changing weather conditions so the decision was taken to land at alternative airfields "The distance from Limbaži to Rīga is long that was the reason why they landed in the meadow," admitted Aivis Vincevs Head of Operational Situations at the Civil Aviation Agency was taken to Riga East Hospital and was prepared for surgery on Wednesday afternoon the polytrauma team was activated and the patient was welcomed fortunately there was no danger to life," said Aleksejs Višņakovs Head of the Hospital's Emergency Medicine Clinic There were two skydivers from Lithuania on board The Civil Aviation Agency informed that the Latvian Parachuting Federation reported that the parachutists had attended a two-day international event with international experts the weather conditions deteriorated and it was not possible to see the ground so the pilot decided to fly to the planned alternate aerodromes the plane was almost out of fuel or completely out of fuel The Civil Aviation Agency cannot yet say which told Latvian Radio that "it is a dual situation others are asking whether it was even smart to carry out this kind of activity in the airspace today in these weather conditions taking into account the weather conditions the performance of the aircraft and the professionalism of the pilot "The site where the forced landing was made is not suitable for this type of flight But the problem is that he should not have ended up in the situation he ended up in," the agency director said the Riga International Airport was closed for an hour on Wednesday as the crews of the State Fire and Rescue Service which supervise the airport had gone to the scene but flights cannot take place without the supervision of rescuers The airport said that flights were delayed by half an hour Two planes that were scheduled to land in Riga were diverted to Tallinn and Vilnius The airport then resumed normal operations Authorities are investigating the accident The Civil Aviation Agency has opened an administrative offense procedure The investigation has revealed information indicating possible breaches of civil aviation safety rules and the Civil Aviation Agency has therefore decided to suspend the licence of the pilot involved Take note – story published 1 year and 9 months ago In fact, events have been ongoing since July 29 but they reach a climax this weekend on August 5 and 6 with a Hanseatic-themed market (Limbaži was a member of the Hanseatic League) numerous concerts at different locations around the city a 3x3 basketball tournament and even a chance to learn how to make the perfect fish soup with fish from Lielezers lake Full details are available at the municipal website and in a special festival newspaper from the tourist information point in the town center Even if you can't make it in person, you can do so virtually with a bird's eye view of Limbaži here Though its history dates back even further (as you can discover at the excellent town museum) the 800th anniversary marks the founding of the town of Lemsahl in the early 13th century around a castle constructed by crusading knights Despite its relatively small size – the current population is justunder 7,000 – it has played an important part in Latvian and Baltic history and for many years in medieval times was the place where barons from all over Livonia (most of present-day Latvia and Estonia) would convene each year for a grand council.   Today it's well known for its excellent dairy and bakery products Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens (P) met with Dagnis Straubergs (LRA) to find solutions for the bridge over the Salaca River in Salacgrīva head of the Saeima’s Committee on National Economy and representatives of the state company Latvian State Roads (Latvijas Valsts ceļi) took part in the discussion about “a critical infrastructure object of national importance in terms of its connection to the Via Baltica and in the country’s overall security architecture,” as the minister described the bridge should NOT be left to the roads of Limbazi municipality alone It is unacceptable for such a critical bottleneck to be a single lane I have consulted all parties – a new bridge can be built in two years And this is the proposal I will take to the government,” Briskens told the meeting The construction project for a new bridge over the Salaca River has been developed and submitted to the call for proposals for military mobility projects at the European Executive Agency for Climate which receives funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) a large part of the construction costs would be covered by this funding relying solely on EU funding is not a guaranteed solution and other alternatives for raising funds should be considered if it is not granted It is envisaged that a temporary bridge will be built to ensure continuity of traffic during the construction of the new bridge It was also discussed that the bridge over the Salaca River could remain under the responsibility of the Limbazi Municipality but the possibility of the bridge becoming the property of the Ministry of Transport is also being considered to ensure the construction of strategic transport infrastructure It is planned that the construction of the new bridge will be carried out by SJSC Latvian State Roads Read also: Minister on regional buses: cancelling is more economical than trying to provide RIGA - Various pro and anti Latvian Legion Day events will take place in Riga today as police in the Latvian capital will be on high alert The Limbazi Section of the Daugavas Vanagi war veterans organization will hold a march from St.John's Church in the old city to the Freedom Monument in downtown Riga The commemorative procession is expected to gather some 100 participants according to the organization's estimates A fence will be placed by the Freedom Monument during the procession The Society for the Support of National Soldiers to hold a meeting by the Freedom Monument from 7:00 a.m in remembrance of the Latvian WWII legionnaires in the square in front of the Freedom Monument to honor the memory of Waffen-SS victims and denounce attempts to justify the crimes committed by Waffen-SS The organizers expect about 100 people to take part in the picket The participants of this event will be allowed to gather in Bastejkalns park next to the Freedom Monument The Riga City Council has decided on such restrictions because the Anti-Nazi Committee of Latvia is organizing its event to protest against the procession organized by Daugavas Vanagi Similar restrictions were applied also last year the State Security Service believes there is a good chance that radically minded persons could participate in March 16 events this Saturday in Riga with the aim of realizing their personal objectives the State Security Service will continue to assess the potential risks in connection with March 16 events the March 16 Latvian Legion Day is an unofficial remembrance day of Latvian Legionnaires Latvian Legion Day was established in exile by the Daugavas Vanagi association March 16 was chosen as the most appropriate date because on March 16 both divisions of the Latvian Legion fought alongside for the first time against the Red Army It was the only battle in World War II led solely by Latvian commanders who were forcibly called up to join the Latvian SS Legion saw the German army as a lesser of two evils the choice to join the Latvian SS Legion was a result of the brutal Soviet occupation between 1940 and 1941 during which tens of thousands of Latvians were executed or deported to Siberia Latvia might be rewarded with independence or autonomy In Latvia the Legionnaires are being commemorated for fighting against the Soviet occupation and for Latvia's freedom but the Nazi connection causes great controversy abroad with Russia in particular taking the opportunity to trumpet about rebirth of Nazism in Latvia and every year there are groups of pro-Russia activists holding demonstrations in Riga on March 16 to protest marking of the Latvian Legion Day A subscription to The Baltic Times is a cost-effective way of staying in touch with the latest Baltic news and views enabling you full access from anywhere with an Internet connection. Subscribe Now! 2025 © The Baltic Times /Cookies Policy Privacy Policy Five kilometers south of the Estonian border in the coastal Latvian town of Salacgriva bottleneck-inducing vehicular bridge carrying the Via Baltica over the Salaca River is slated to be replaced Should the EU agree to provide funding for a new bridge the rest of the bill will be footed by Limbazi Municipality and the Latvian state Anyone who has ever driven from Tallinn to Riga has surely cursed Salacgriva Bridge It's in such poor structural shape that only one-way traffic is permitted at a time keeping distances of 30 meters between vehicles Whenever either Tallinn or Riga hosts a major event drivers end up backed up for quite some time behind traffic-regulating traffic lights The flow of traffic here is nearly uninterrupted Via Baltica may be an important major international highway but the bridge through Salacgriva and spanning its namesake river nonetheless belongs to the local government doesn't have the money to either renovate the current bridge or build a new one has offered the bridge to the Latvian state Other bridges exist traversing cities along highways as well has urged the local government to do something about the old bridge "We've been negotiating over this bridge for 12 years already," Limbazi Municipal Council chair Dagnis Straubergs told ERR "The local government commissioned an expert assessment ten years ago already which concluded that it would be more economical to build a new bridge," Straubergs noted "Of course it can carry a tank or Soviet-era gazik or bus but the bridge isn't designed to withstand this type of traffic density." "In other places where local governments receive support for the maintenance and upgrading of transit streets or bridges they're able to cope with managing the property they own," said Dins Merirands deputy state secretary at the Ministry of Transport "It's difficult for me to say why that hasn't been the case here." The most recent expert assessment of the bridge was conducted in 2020; another must be carried out this year as well the bridge spanning the Salaca River doesn't comply with any EU or Latvian standards and traffic on the bridge must therefore be restricted," explained Andris Zunde who represents Salacgriva on Limbazi Municipal Council It's these restrictions that have given rise to the current traffic management situation Another option would be to ban heavy truck traffic from the bridge but no good alternative route for the latter currently exists and this would complicate operations at the local commercial port in town Limbazi Municipality is seeking funding from the EU's military mobility project the hope is to start work on the construction of a new bridge next year "Construction of a new bridge will cost €18 million," Straubergs said "We plan on submitting our project application to Brussels by September 21." the Latvian government may thereafter allocate half the funds needed to cover the project's own contribution There is enough land in Salacgriva for the construction of a bypass to the bridge but experts believe traffic loads aren't yet high enough to justify that option and the Rail Baltica railway project is expected to significantly reduce commercial traffic along the highway new traffic lights ordered from Germany have been installed at either end of the bridge which automatically gives the green light to the side with more cars waiting Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update! 0)" class="article-poll-disclaimer" ng-bind="totalVotes + ' hääletajat'"> {{option.votes}} {{selectedLanguage.poll.votes}}/ Iga kasutaja võib hääletada {{poll.optionLimit}} vastusevariandi poolt One of the most popular things to watch in Latvia right now generally starts at 2 a.m., but that hasn't seemed to matter when it comes to ratings.The show is Blue Jackets hockey, and Elvis Merzlikins and Matiss Kivlenieks are the stars.The two Latvian goaltenders -- one a burgeoning star the other an unheralded underdog -- have made history this season by being just the fourth and fifth goaltenders from their country ever to play in the NHL an improbable feat that has made alarm clocks across their home nation ready to buzz in the dark of night "There are people that are waking up to see the games; some aren't even going to sleep and just waiting for the puck drop," said Aivis Kalniņš a freelance hockey writer who lives in Limbazi a town of close to 9,000 residents about 80 kilometers from the capital of Riga "We love our hockey and we love our athletes so we try to support them as much as possible."It's a sports-mad country in the Baltic region of northern Europe with a population of just under two million As fans have started to fall into Elvis-mania in Columbus the Ohio capital with a metro population the same size as the entire country of Latvia residents of his home nation are doing the same.While Nationwide Arena is starting to fill with No Elvis Presley wigs and songs from the legendary crooner Latvians might need a little coffee to handle the early mornings a fact that leaves Merzlikins thrilled considering just how closely he holds his home country."I love it," he said to defend my country and make it proud and give that name for the world to know because there are a lot of people who don't even know where Latvia is it is very important to push the name of the country as far as we can so the people know where I am from." whose shores form the western border of the country of 64,589 square kilometers (about the size of West Virginia) Finland and Sweden are not terribly far away the former via land and the latter by boat across the Baltic.After centuries of Swedish the Republic of Latvia was established in 1918 but it was soon occupied by the Nazis during World War II and the Soviet Union during the Cold War the nation achieved full independence in 1991 and sports has been at the forefront of the nation's efforts to carve its niche on the world stage.NBA star Kristaps Porzingis and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko are some of the more notable athletes from the country but hockey has always been the country's first love.The country's hockey program has been part of the flight at the IIHF World Championships since 1997 and is currently led by former NHL head coach Bob Hartley Defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh and goalie Arturs Irbe were among the first wave of notable Latvians to reach stardom at the NHL level in the 1990s.At the moment Latvia's national team is ranked 10th in the world by the International Ice Hockey Federation with five players from the country -- Merzlikins Pittsburgh forward Teddy Bleuger and Ottawa forward Rudolfs Balcers -- having played NHL minutes this season.But Merzlikins' ascendance is the one that has captured the hearts of a nation and given Merzlikins' long stint with the Latvian national team his name recognition is off the charts in his homeland."Everyone knows who he is," Kalniņš said His personality has made him this big thing in Latvia If there is a public event the longest line for an autograph would probably have him standing in front of it whatever you can imagine that can be signed."Though Merzlikins moved to Switzerland first when he was 8 years old and then permanently at 15 where he settled in Lugano and became a professional standout He was born in Riga and has worn his national team's colors since playing for the Under-17 national team in 2010-11.That has included two appearances at the World Juniors as well as four different appearances in Latvian colors at the World Championships he helped backstop the team to an eighth-place finish at the Worlds one of the best tournaments in the nation's history His colorful Latvia-themed pads and athletic performances turned heads not just across the world but with a Latvian public that treats the annual World Championships as a nationwide party NJD@CBJ: Merzlikins fuels Blue Jackets' shutout win Adding the cherry on top is the arrival of Kivlenieks who was called up to be Merzlikins' top backup when Korpisalo went down A native of Riga as well who moved to the United States at age 17 to chase his dream but his debut win Sunday against the New York Rangers was also notable in his home country."In Latvia sport and especially hockey fans are very excited about situation in Blue Jackets goal," said Jānis Bendziks "Merzlikins' slow start of his debut season left many of journalists and fans wondering what happened to him We did not see his confidence; those mistakes were so unusual from him."So when Korpisalo went down with his injury many thought this is his chance So naturally Latvians are very hyped and happy about him His attitude towards Latvian national team has been great and that is really important to Latvian hockey fan." Irbe was one of the first Latvians to gain prominence in hockey circles across the globe starting from when he debuted with the expansion San Jose Sharks in 1991 Irbe starred in one of the biggest upsets in NHL postseason history playing all seven games in net as a Sharks team that won just 33 games in the regular season beat the top-seeded Detroit Red Wings in a first-round series.Wearing his trademark white scuffed pads that he often repaired on his own Irbe in 2002 led an upstart Carolina team to the Stanley Cup Final cementing his legacy among Latvian players He was later dealt to Columbus but never played a game for the Blue Jackets instead returning to Europe after the NHL lockout."Irbe is one of the reasons why Latvians love hockey," Bendziks said "Irbe's impact for the hockey in Latvia was huge Irbe was main reason why Latvia beat Russia in the World Championship That is a great moment in Latvian hockey history."Later he was followed into the net by Peteris Skudra and Kirsters Gudlevskis the other Latvians to suit up in an NHL net before this season Yet Merzlikins and Kivlenieks took different approaches to making it to Columbus.Though they grew up about 40 minutes away from each other the two goalies who are only two years apart in age didn't really know each other as they honed their games growing up They first met in 2018 when both made Latvia's World Championships team though Merzlikins said his interest was piqued when Kivlenieks signed with the Blue Jackets in the summer of 2017."There are a lot of guys on the national team who are asking themselves 'Who is this guy?' because nobody knew about him," Merzlikins said of Kivleneiks The first time I met him was in the World Championships in Denmark When I knew that there was another Latvian goalie in Columbus 'Who is this guy and where is he coming from?'"Then we met and made a good friendship." CBJ@NYR: Kivlenieks shuts the door on Panarin While the two didn't know much about each other before Kivlenieks' callup this December In Columbus they've bonded over mutual acquaintances they have from their home country not to mention a shared experience ranging from an upbringing to the unique position in sports they play."He is a good friend of mine," Merzlikins said He is a little bit weird -- more weird than me we are working hard.""He is a great person," Kivlenieks said of Merzlikins He's not trying to be somebody he's not."From a Baltic nation more than 4,500 miles away from Columbus to central Ohio with their new home and with their homelands It's a unique story but one that shows the power of sports in a global world."I think it's amazing," Kivlenieks said "even for a Latvian payer to get to the NHL and now we have two goalies in this league Maxima Latvija plans to continue developing its self-service checkout services in 16 stores across Latvia There are plans to install such checkouts in cities like Riga It is planned to install self-service checkouts in ten stores in Riga and six outside of Riga «Popularity of self-service checkouts continues to increase – 27% of residents already regularly use their services when shopping in Maxima stores in which they are available current trends suggest that residents use self-service checkouts to pay for smaller purchases – the average amount paid for purchases at self-service checkouts is around EUR 10 This trend shows that buyers use self-service checkouts when they need to purchase everyday goods,» says Maxima Latvija operational manager and board member Kristīne Āboltiņa Introduction of self-service checkouts is one of the steps intended to help relieve workload for workers and reduce queues A single cashier services an average of 400-600 customers a day Around 300 thousand people shop at Maxima Latvija stores every day Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here Take note – story published 7 years and 7 months ago The Limbazi district court on September 8 denied the request by Estonian millionaire Oleg Ossinovski to separate the charges against him and the co-defendant Ugis Magonis into separate proceedings and let him be tried in Estonia Ossinovski's representatives had made the request as the alleged crime had taken place in Estonia they said the proceedings are taking place in Latvian so Ossinovski cannot understand the case and that the court has to ensure all documents are translated which further encumbers the work of the court The Limbaži district court judge Kārlis Jansons denied the request as the case features many witnesses from Latvia who would find it difficult to appear before the court in Estonia He set the date of the next hearing for January 15 Later on September 8 the court lowered the bail money posted by Magonis' wife to €200,000 from €400,000 and the difference will be repaid to his wife It also cancelled a ban on meetings between Magonis and Ossinovski but did not lift the restriction to leave the country Magonis' representatives supported the request as well.  the judge barred media from using sound or video recording equipment in the court room even though the case is probably the highest-profile case of the year as far as the participants are concerned and have stimulated great public interest owing to the wealth and renown of the accused The media ban was instigated at the request of Magonis The Latvian Journalists Association protested against the ruling Friday afternoon saying it restricted the media's ability to tell the public exactly what was happening and that this in turn threatened to undermine public confidence in the legal process.  Ossinovski and Magonis demonstrated different conduct He was asked whether he wants to offer comment and replied: "No While Ossinovski stressed he won't be pleading guilty "Being here is the last thing I wanted to do I hope the proceedings will be quick and transparent," said Ossinovski media will be restricted to the old fashioned pen-and-paper means of transcribing proceedings As reported the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau in August 2015 arrested former Latvian Railways boss and business high-flyer Magonis.  is accused of accepting €499,500 as a bribe while Estonian millionaire Oleg Ossinovski is charged with giving the bribe The case involves a transaction in which the Latvian Railways subsidiary LDz Ritosa Sastava Serviss bought four old locomotives for several million euros from Ossinovski’s company Skinest Ossinovski denies any corrupt practices in the sale of the locomotives Accepting a large-scale bribe carries a prison sentence of up to ten years