The Specificity of the "Biedermeier" Period and its Impact on Everyday Life

The aim of this chapter is to characterise the first half of the nineteenth century as a period that had a decisive role in preparing the ground for the formation of a modern national literature. In Latvian literature during this time the development of Popular Enlightenment impulses imported from the German language cultural space continued, complemented by an increase in the proportion of ethnic elements as a gradually increasing number of authors of Latvian descent entered the field of literature written in Latvian, and the first periodicals in the Latvian language appeared on the scene. These changes influenced not only the formation of Latvian literary culture, but also relations between the Latvian and Baltic German communities. Political reforms also played an important role: the abolition of serfdom in Vidzeme (Livland) and Kurzeme (Courland) provided opportunities for the economic and social emancipation of the Latvian populace, which, in turn, opened the way for the development of national literature in the second half of the nineteenth century.