Mazirbe

Mazirbe Livonian: Irē
Village
Livonian culture centre in Mazirbe with flags on display during annual meeting.
Motto:  Cultural capital of the Livonians.
Mazirbe Location in Latvia
Coordinates: 57°41′N 22°19′E
Country	Latvia
Municipality	Talsi Municipality
Parish	Kolka Parish
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population  (2005)
• Total	134
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	LV-3273 Mazirbe

Mazirbe (Livonian: Irē or Piški Īra, German: Klein-Irben) is a village place in Kolka Parish, Talsi Municipality, Latvia 18 km southwest of Kolka. It is one of twelve Livonian villages on Līvõd rānda - the Livonian Coast. Mazirbe is the cultural capital of the Livonians.

The flag of the Livonians has flown over the Livonian House of the People (Latvian: Lībiešu tautas nams or Līvu tautas nams, Livonian: Līvõd rovkuodā), a cultural centre dating from 1938, built in the heart of the village with the support of linguistic cousins in Hungary, Finland and Estonia. Inside is a small museum showing photos of past generations of Livonians. On the first Sunday of August there is a Livonian gathering here, culminating in a procession to the beach where a wreath is cast into the sea in remembrance of fishermen who have met watery deaths. A camp for young people where only Livonian is spoken is held for a week beforehand. The Mazirbe plague stone is a unique feature of the village.

The name of the village in both Livonian and Latvian translates to 'Small Irbe/Irā', as opposed to Lielirbe or 'Great Irbe/Irā'.

See also

• Livonian people

References

• Viksna AA (March 1972). "[Mazirbe plague stone—historical-medical monument in Latvia]". Zh. Mikrobiol. Epidemiol. Immunobiol. (in Russian). 49 (3): 140–1. PMID 4553059.

External links

• Media related to Mazirbe at Wikimedia Commons