Midsummer Day is written into the history of the Latvian language quite literally: on 24 June 1593, Georg Mancelius was born at Mežmuiža, today’s Augstkalne. The Baltic German pastor and later professor at Dorpat compiled “Lettus,” the first printed German–Latvian dictionary, with about 6,000 word translations and everyday phrases. He worked for the ear of an outsider, yet left marks on the body of written Latvian itself.

In the 17th century, the Latvian written tradition was shaped largely by German clergy who needed Latvian for church work. Mancelius stood out in that setting by trying not only to translate the language, but also to organize and describe it for practical use.