Talsi, Talsen
“Like a painting on a chocolate box, it is a pretty, tranquil idyll tucked under hills beside a large pond.”
– Kurzeme Travel Guide, Insight Guides
Located 94 km WNW of Riga, the city of Talsi currently serves as the administrative centre of the Talsi Municipality of Latvia. It is part of the historical and cultural region of Courland, or Kurzeme. Before 1900, in German documents and in many Jewish records, it is called Talsen. Our website focuses on the Jewish history of the town, its records and its families. Contributions of photographs, travel accounts, documents, or family histories are welcome. Please contact me for more information.
Maps and Geography
Talsi Jewish Community
The data for the map below is taken from the 1935 Census (green), the 1924 Latvian phone directory (light purple), and the 1937 Latvian phone directory (dark purple). Click on the map or the markers for further information. Disclaimer: The locations are set by Google, and may or may not exactly match the location from that time.
- JewishGen Town Finder for Talsi
- Talsi – from MapCarta
Travel
Travel Accounts
- Talsi and Valdemarpils, 1989 – an almost historic document at this point, this is my personal account from a trip taken before Latvian independence. Betsy Thal Gephart.
- Latvia Journal, 2003 – an account of my trip to visit newfound relatives in Latvia in August, 2003. Betsy Thal Gephart.
Travel Sites
- Talsi Synagogue – from Visit Talsi
- Explore Talsi – from Tripadvisor.com
- Tourism Information Centre in Talsi
- Kurzeme Travel Guide – from Insight Guides
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My Courland Towns 