This happened five centuries ago, in line with Europe’s turning point arising from the Reformation. At that time, supporters of Luther’s teachings had already gained the upper hand in Rīga, and in 1525 the first printed works in Latvian and Estonian languages were being carried to Rīga – Lutheran texts intended for Livonia. News about the fate of these publications is scant. The shipment did not reach Rīga, because the books were seized in Lübeck by the pro-Catholic city council. The Duke of Lübeck, Johannes Brandes, wrote in his diary that the council confiscated barrels of Lutheran books, among them were also printed texts in Estonian, Latvian and vernacular Livonian. The council wanted to burn the books in the market square. Although these books in Latvian did not reach their readers (listeners), and later could not be found in the already established Rīga city library (1524), fire did not stop the dissemination of words. Word written in Latvian were born, grew further and spread in a variety of ways. Several testimonies about articles, notes and translations in Latvian have been preserved from these ancient times. For example, the Lord’s Prayer written down in Latvian by Nicolaus Gisbert, a Catholic priest from the Rīga area, in the margins of a handbook printed in Leipzig; or the hymns rendered in Latvian by Johann Eck, head pastor of Rīga’s Latvian St. James’ congregation (both examples date from the 1530s). Not much later, in 1585, a translation into Latvian of the Jesuit Petrus Canisius’ Catholic Catechism was printed in Vilnius – the oldest printed text to have survived to this day. And a couple of decades later, the foundation of the publishing business is already being laid in Rīga – the first book printshop, run by Nicolaus Mollyn, began operating. Over the course of five centuries, the Latvian language and publishing have established deep roots and flourished widely. The “ashes” of the first Latvian book have been fertile – from the listeners to the first printed books, public readings and singing of texts to individual reading experiences, translation and the digitisation of texts – books have been and remain the driving force of the cultural space and the nation. Books once opened new opportunities for education and knowledge, for reflection on the world around us and on the world that can only live in our imagination. They gave us self-assurance, made us think about ourselves and the organisation of society, about our past and future opportunities. The written word allowed Latvians to identify themselves among other nations and resolutely integrate into the family of other cultures with a rich contribution. That is why the beginning of the 16th century is when the Latvian written language and culture forced itself above ground. Into the light that has already been shaping us for 500 years.