Meet Semigallians! Tourism route “Balts’ Road” – one day promotional tour

Date: 13. August 2019

Time: 8:00 am - 6:45 pm

During the Iron Age and the Middle Age, Semigallians, an ancient Baltic tribe native to Latvia and Lithuania, inhabited the central part of the present-day Latvia (Zemgale plains) and northern Lithuania. Once being among the militant and prosperous nations in northern Europe, the renowned traders ruled over the two largest rivers in Latvia – the Lielupe and the Daugava, as well as the largest port in the region, “Portus Semigallia”. Semigallians are linked to the early Iron Age (1st–4th centuries); however, the first scarce written information about Semigallia is retrieved from the Danish Chronicle of 9th century. In the 13th century, Semigallians owned twelve lands (Silene, Žagare, Dobene, Spārnene, Tērvete, Dobele, Sidrabene, Plāne, Nogailenas, Gostagales, Šurpenes, Putelene). At that time, the political, economic and military centre was Tērvete, home to the Kings Viestards, Namejs and, probably, Šābis. Among the nations residing in the territory of Latvia, Semigallians resisted the German Order the longest – until the mid-14th century. Later on, Semigallians merged to form the Latvian and Lithuanian nations, and the Semigallian dialect was underlying to the Latvian literary language.

Zemgale Planning Region is planning the one day information tour of the new international route “Balts’ Road” to promote the Selonian and Semigallian lifestyle, ancient testimonies of history, traditions and today’s major tourist attractions. During the tour participants will have the opportunity to spend a full day, including exploring the history, culture, traditions and landscape of ancient Selonians and Semigallians.