Ogre, Latvia Ogre, Latvia Ogre (; ; ) (population 26,573 in 2000 census) is the principal town of Ogre Municipality (and previously Ogre District) in Central Latvia, east of the capital Riga, situated at the confluence of the Daugava and Ogre rivers. It has been a town since 1928. Ogre is composed of three parts: Jaunogre (meaning "New Ogre"), Ogre (the center of the town), and Pārogre (meaning "Ogre across [the river]" though not all of the named region is across the river). The name of the town comes from the Ogre river. The Ogre village was first mentioned in 1206, called
Culture of Latvia Orthodox Christian minorities. Latvia is divided into several cultural and historical regions: Vidzeme, Latgale, Courland and Zemgale. Sometimes, Sēlija and Maliena are also distinguished. Latvians have the rich heritage of traditional folklore, especially folk songs. Dating back well over a thousand years, more than 1.2 million texts and 30,000 melodies of folk songs have been identified. A form of traditional architecture in Latvia is log houses. The position of houses differs among regions. In western Latvia, single farms are more popular and in villages, the houses are positioned in a circle around a central square. In eastern Latvia, villages are