<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:J%C5%ABrmala" class="extiw" title="w:en:Jūrmala">Jūrmala</a> is the fifth largest city in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Latvia" class="extiw" title="w:en:Latvia">Latvia</a>, about 25 kilometres west of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Riga" class="extiw" title="w:en:Riga">Riga</a>. Sandwiched between the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Gulf_of_Riga" class="extiw" title="w:en:Gulf of Riga">Gulf of Riga</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Lielupe" class="extiw" title="w:en:Lielupe">Lielupe</a> river, Jūrmala has a 33 km stretch of white-sand beach stretching west into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:%C4%B6emeri_National_Park" class="extiw" title="w:en:Ķemeri National Park">Ķemeri National Park</a>. Established in 1997, Ķemeri is the third largest national park in the country by area, covering an area of 381.65 km². The territory of the park is mostly occupied by forests and mires, the most significant of them being The Great Ķemeri Bog (Lielais Ķemeru tīrelis). There are also several lakes, which are former lagoons of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Littorina_Sea" class="extiw" title="w:en:Littorina Sea">Littorina Sea</a>. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Lake_Ka%C5%86ieris" class="extiw" title="w:en:Lake Kaņieris">Lake Kaņieris</a> is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Ramsar_site" class="extiw" title="w:en:Ramsar site">Ramsar site</a>. The park also protects the famous natural mineral-springs and muds, used for centuries because of their therapeutic nature. The springs led to development of many resorts, spas, and sanitariums in the 19th century.
<p>After centuries of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Swedish_Livonia" class="extiw" title="w:en:Swedish Livonia">Swedish</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth" class="extiw" title="w:en:Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth">Polish-Lithuanian</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Russian_Empire" class="extiw" title="w:en:Russian Empire">Russian rule</a>, a rule mainly executed by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Baltic_Germans" class="extiw" title="w:en:Baltic Germans">Baltic German</a> aristocracy, the Republic of Latvia was established on 18 November 1918 when it broke away and declared independence in the aftermath of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:WWI" class="extiw" title="w:en:WWI">World War I</a>. However, by the 1930s the country became increasingly autocratic after the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:1934_Latvian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat" class="extiw" title="w:en:1934 Latvian coup d'état">coup in 1934</a> establishing an authoritarian regime under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:K%C4%81rlis_Ulmanis" class="extiw" title="w:en:Kārlis Ulmanis">Kārlis Ulmanis</a>. The country's 'de facto' independence was interrupted at the outset of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:WWII" class="extiw" title="w:en:WWII">World War II</a>, beginning with Latvia's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Soviet_occupation_of_Latvia_in_1940" class="extiw" title="w:en:Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940">forced incorporation</a> into the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Soviet_Union" class="extiw" title="w:en:Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>, followed by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:German_occupation_of_Latvia_during_World_War_II" class="extiw" title="w:en:German occupation of Latvia during World War II">invasion and occupation</a> by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Nazi_Germany" class="extiw" title="w:en:Nazi Germany">Nazi Germany</a> in 1941, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Soviet_re-occupation_of_Latvia_in_1944" class="extiw" title="w:en:Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944">re-occupation by the Soviets</a> in 1944 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Courland_Pocket" class="extiw" title="w:en:Courland Pocket">Courland Pocket</a> in 1945) to form the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Latvian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" class="extiw" title="w:en:Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic">Latvian SSR</a> for the next 45 years. The peaceful <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Singing_Revolution" class="extiw" title="w:en:Singing Revolution">Singing Revolution</a>, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation from Soviet rule and condemning the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Soviet_Union" class="extiw" title="w:en:Soviet Union">Communist</a> regime's illegal takeover. It ended with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:On_the_Restoration_of_Independence_of_the_Republic_of_Latvia" class="extiw" title="w:en:On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia">Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia</a> on 4 May 1990, and restoring 'de facto' <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:State_continuity_of_the_Baltic_states" class="extiw" title="w:en:State continuity of the Baltic states">independence</a> on 21 August 1991.
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<br><span style="color:blue;"><i>The <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Scotch_Mist/Poland" class="mw-redirect" title="User:Scotch Mist/Poland">Scotch Mist Gallery</a> contains many photographs of historic buildings, monuments and memorials of Poland and countries that previously comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.</i></span>
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Scotch_Mist" title="User:Scotch Mist">Scotch Mist</a>
CC BY-SA 4.0
<span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>