Liepaja is a seaport on the Baltic Sea, in the south-west of Latvia with a territory of 60 square kilometers and a population of 114,500 (1989).
 It was first mentioned in historical documents under the name of Liva village (Lyva or liiw meaning sand in the Liv language) in 1253. In 1625 it was granted the status of the town granted by the Duke of Courland and confirmed by the King of Poland a year later.  Since 1560 its name has been Libau or Liepaja (Liiw - Liva - Liba - Libau).

Liepaja has been seen and survived dukes, kings and tsars.  It has shaped its own history in the changeability and vicissitudes of political powers and created values being able to weather the swirls of times.

It is a town of an ice free port and wonderful churches.

It is a town of the waste of industrial civilization and the healing freshness of the white beaches.  A cosmopolitan town with springs of culture rooted in ancient traditions - this it Liepaja too.