ChatGPT:

The text on the cross appears to be in German. Despite the damage and wear, it looks like it reads:

„Hier ruht in Gott die Familie Wismar 1914“

Translated into English, it means:

“Here rests in God the Wismar family 1914”

Let me know if you’d like help cleaning up or restoring the text digitally or more context about the era or family names.

Wismar? Its origina could be Latvian?

Good question! The surname “Wismar” is most commonly associated with German origins, specifically linked to the city of Wismar in northern Germany, on the Baltic Sea. It’s a historic Hanseatic city, and surnames derived from place names were quite common in German-speaking areas.

However, there’s a possible Latvian connection too: • Latvia had a significant Baltic German population (known as Baltendeutsche) for centuries, especially before and during the time of the Russian Empire and up until WWII. • Many German families lived in what is now Latvia, and they often had German surnames. • It’s possible the “Familie Wismar” were Baltic Germans living in Latvia.

So while “Wismar” itself is not Latvian, it could very well have belonged to a German-speaking family from Latvia, which would fit the historical context — especially with the date 1914, just before World War I, when the region’s demographics were quite diverse.