For centuries under Hanseatic and German influence and then during its inter-war independence, Latvia used its geographic location as an important East-West commercial and trading centre.
在漢莎和德國影響下的幾個世紀以及其後在兩次世界大戰之間的獨立期間，拉脫維亞利用地理位置作為重要的東西方商業貿易中心。