More than 700 local residents helped lay the flower carpet. Photo by the Ventspils municipal government.

VENTSPILS, Latvia — In recent history Latvia has been in the record books for largest GDP increases and declines as its economy rode the rollercoaster of fortune up and down during the past decade.

With this and the current economic doldrums in mind, lively port city of Ventspils decided to put the country in the biggest record book of them all, the Guinness Book of Records, for something else — the longest flower carpet in the world.

While they’re not often seen in the U.S., in Europe flower carpets are a sign of summer in capitals across the continent. Brussels has a famous flower carpet created annually in the Grand Place.

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However, none is longer than Ventspils’ this year, stretching a full 1,665 m and 93 cm from the city center to the port. More than 700 local residents helped lay the flower carpet.

The municipally-organized event has sent an application to Guinness for inclusion in the record book for this feat, and in the meantime the flower carpet will be on display until Wednesday.

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