Today is Latvian Independence Day. 100 years ago today, in Riga, the People’s Council of Latvia proclaimed the independence of the new country from the Russian Empire.

These photos are of the 42 metre high Brīvības piemineklis (Freedom Monument). It was unveiled in 1935, honoring the soldiers killed during Latvian War of Independence. The inscription, Tēvzemei un Brīvībai, reads For Fatherland and Freedom.