With engagement campaigns and a culminating event called “Through Darkness with a Book” on 8 November, the National Library of Latvia invited everyone to celebrate 500 years since the first Latvian book. An extensive programme of free events for different age groups and interests was planned at the National Library of Latvia and was broadcast live from the national library to 100 libraries across Latvia, as well as to diaspora communities abroad. More than 30 locations complemented the live broadcast with special in-person events.
Reinis Suhanovs, Director of the 8 November event “Through Darkness with a Book”, emphasised: “A written text is a source of strength for a nation. Rephrasing a song by the band Pērkons: As long as there are writers and readers of Latvian texts, we will continue to live.”
On the eve of the public programme, a ceremonial event dedicated to the 500th anniversary of printed books in Latvian was held at St. Peter’s Church in Riga on 7 November. The event was broadcasted live on the internet news portal of Latvian Public Media, as well as shown on Latvian Television. St. Peter’s Church in Riga was chosen as the venue for the ceremonial event because it played an important role in the Reformation movement not only in Latvia but across the historical territory of Livonia, which led to the beginnings of printed books in Latvian.
The programme included opening remarks by Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, a special guest lecture by Dr Thomas T. Müller, Head of the Luther Memorials Foundation in Wittenberg, Germany: “On the Trail of the Lost Book. A Detective Story about the First Book Printed in Latvian”, an address by Dagnija Baltiņa, Director of the National Library of Latvia: “Books in Latvian: 2025–2525”, and a performance by the youth choir “Kamēr…” (artistic director Jurģis Cābulis).
“500 Years of Latvian Books” is a series of events organised by the National Library of Latvia, with an extensive programme over five years and concluding at the end of 2025. It highlights the key developments that once set in motion the spread of the written and printed word in Latvian.
The first known printed text in Latvian dates back to 8 November 1525, when Johannes Brandes, Dean of the Cathedral of Lübeck, recorded in his diary that the town council of Lübeck had confiscated barrels of Lutheran books, among which were printed texts in Estonian, Latvian, and the common Livonian language (most likely Middle Low German).
The event cycle “500 Years of Latvian Books” and its culminating event “Through Darkness with a Book” are supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia and the State Culture Capital Foundation.
The anniversary is included in UNESCO’s calendar of celebratory days this year as a date of cultural and historical significance, marking a decisive beginning in the spread and development of the Latvian language and in the creation, existence, and identity of the nation.
The year 2025 also articulates a vision for a future in which reading is the key to national security and a dignified life. Latvia’s future depends on the number of people in our country who can think critically and be proficient readers. “The Right to Read. The Riga Manifesto” invites us to make reading and book culture the foundation of Latvia’s growth and prosperity, and to create a national reading strategy, with special emphasis on the right to read in the Latvian language.
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