Baltic Germans
Teutonic settler descendants
Baltic Germans were an ethnic German population that lived in the eastern Baltic region—primarily in what is now Estonia and Latvia—from medieval times until the mid-20th century.
They descended from German merchants, clergy, and nobility who settled the area beginning in the 12th century and formed the ruling elite for centuries under various sovereigns.
Most Baltic Germans were resettled to Germany during World War II or fled as the Soviet Union took control of the region.
- Northern CrusadesMedieval wars Christianizing northeastern Europe
- Livonian OrderCrusading brotherhood in Estonia
- EstoniaNorthern Baltic republic
- LatviaBaltic republic, northern Europe
- landownershipHolding title to property
Russification · German language · serfdom · Lutheranism · feudal system · manor houses · Treaty of Brest-Litovsk · Russian Empire · World War I · Riga · interwar period · Teutonic Knights · landed gentry · Tallinn · Reformation · legal reforms · nobility · crusaders
- BalticsLatvia, Lithuania, Riga, Tallinn, Livonian Order
- Baltic GermansGerman settlers, Livonia, Riga, Livonian Order
- Baltic historyRiga, Livonia, Teutonic Knights, Tallinn, Vilnius
- Baltic interwarEstonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Tallinn, Riga
- Baltic Nobility
- Estonian HistorySinging Revolution, Soviet occupation, Northern Crusades, deportations, Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact