Liepāja

Liepāja is an important ice-free harbour with a population around 70,000 people. The city is renowned for its beaches and sun, but for its winds as well. It is called locally "the city where the wind was born". Liepāja had an history reflecting the history of the Baltic. It was first established by the knights of the Teutonic order in 1263, on the spot of a fishermen settlement and named Libau. It was sacked by Lithuanians and later Swedes, before becoming part of the Russian Empire. A railway connexion with central Russia made Libau a major trade route in the Baltic and was fortified. By 1906, there was a direct ship line with the US which became one of the major route for emigration to the US.