In a document from 1387, the village is named Minor Irva. Until the mid-20th century, Mazirbe was the largest Livonian village on the coast of Kurzeme. It was a fishing village and a centre for fishing. The village had a church, school, pharmacy, forestry company, several stores, a post and telegraph office, train station, barber shop, bakery and photo workshop, as well as a brick kiln. During the 1930s, a local fishing co-operative built a fish processing plant here. The Livonian Association was established here in 1923, and the Livonian People's Centre was opened in 1939. Oppoite the centre is the Stūrīši homestead (the home of the Taizel dynasty), where you can learn about everyday household objects and, by ordering it advance, taste local foods. The first chairmen of the Livonian Association, Kārlis Stalte and Māritņš Lepste, lived in Mazirbe. Cultural worker Kārlis Stalte (1870-1978) spent man years as the verger and organist of a church in Mazirbe. Mārtiņš Lepste was a Livonian language teacher in the 1930s. The former Maritime School building can be viewed from the outside. Some 2,000 students attended the school between 1894 and 1914. During Soviet years, the army had a base here.
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