Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia, on the Daugava river near the Gulf of Riga. Known for its UNESCO-listed Old Town, Europe's greatest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture, the vast Central Market and a growing craft-beer and restaurant scene, it blends Hanseatic, Swedish, Russian and Soviet layers into one of the Baltics' most walkable capitals.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Riga.
-
1
Livonian trading settlement
Finno-Ugric Livs and Baltic Latgalians trade at the mouth of the Daugava and around the Rīdzene river.
-
2
Founding of Riga
Bishop Albert of Buxhoeveden founds the city on the Daugava as a base for the crusade in Livonia.
-
3
Livonian Brothers of the Sword
Bishop Albert establishes the military order to defend and expand the Livonian territories.
-
4
Hanseatic League
Riga joins the Hanseatic League and becomes a leading Baltic trading port.
-
5
Reformation
Riga adopts Lutheranism, one of the first cities in Livonia to do so.
-
6
Swedish conquest
King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden captures Riga; the city becomes the largest in the Swedish Empire.
-
7
Russian conquest
After a siege during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great takes Riga and it joins the Russian Empire.
-
8
Demolition of the walls
Russia permits the demolition of the city fortifications, leading to the boulevard ring and the new districts.
-
9
Art Nouveau boom
Riga becomes the third-largest industrial city in the Russian Empire and builds hundreds of Art Nouveau buildings.
-
10
Proclamation of independence
The Republic of Latvia is proclaimed in Riga and makes it the capital.
-
11
Soviet occupation
The Soviet Union occupies and annexes Latvia.
-
12
Nazi occupation
Germany occupies Riga; most of the city's Jewish population is killed, including in the Riga Ghetto.
-
13
Freedom Monument demonstration
Crowds lay flowers at the Freedom Monument to mark the 1941 deportations, the first mass action of the independence movement.
-
14
The Baltic Way
About two million people form a human chain from Tallinn to Vilnius through Riga.
-
15
The Barricades
Citizens defend Riga's key buildings against Soviet forces; Latvia's independence is internationally recognised in August 1991.
-
16
UNESCO listing
The Historic Centre of Riga is inscribed as a World Heritage Site for its Art Nouveau and wooden architecture.
-
17
NATO and EU membership
Latvia joins NATO in March and the European Union in May.
-
18
European Capital of Culture and euro
Riga is European Capital of Culture and Latvia adopts the euro on 1 January.
Historical sites
Places where Riga's past comes alive.
Riga Cathedral (Doma Cathedral)
The largest medieval church in the Baltic states, begun by Bishop Albert in 1211, mixing Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque elements.
Where: Dome Square, Old Town
Admission: About €10 (~$11.50)
St. Peter's Church
A Gothic merchants' church whose spire has been destroyed and rebuilt several times, most recently after World War II.
Where: Old Town
Admission: About €9 (~$10.35) for the tower lift
House of the Blackheads
Guildhall of the Brotherhood of Blackheads, unmarried foreign merchants, with a Dutch Renaissance facade added in 1620.
Where: Town Hall Square, Old Town
Admission: About €9-10 (~$10.35-11.50)
Powder Tower
The last tower of the medieval city wall, with cannonballs embedded in its walls from sieges.
Where: Old Town
Admission: Free
Swedish Gate
The only surviving gate of the Old Town walls, cut through the walls by a merchant in 1698.
Where: Old Town
Admission: Free
Three Brothers
The oldest group of dwelling houses in Riga, three adjoining houses from three centuries.
Where: Old Town
Admission: Free for the exterior
Riga Castle
Built by the Livonian Order after Riga's citizens razed the first castle; it later housed Polish, Swedish and Russian governors.
Where: Old Town, Daugava bank
Admission: From about €8 (~$9.20) per exhibition or tour
Great Guild Hall
The guildhall of the German merchants who ran Riga's trade, rebuilt in a neo-Gothic style in 1860s.
Where: Old Town
Admission: Concert tickets only; check the website
Freedom Monument
Built with public donations and topped by Milda, a figure holding up three stars representing Latvia's historic regions.
Where: Centrs, Riga
Admission: Free
Occupation Museum of Latvia
A museum documenting the Soviet and Nazi occupations from 1940 to 1991.
Where: Old Town
Admission: Free (donations accepted)
Latvian Riflemen Monument
A Soviet-era sculpture group honouring the Latvian Riflemen of the First World War.
Where: Old Town
Admission: Free
Museum of the Barricades of 1991
A small museum on the January 1991 barricades, when citizens blocked the streets of Old Town against Soviet forces.
Where: Old Town
Admission: Free (donations accepted)
Alberta iela Art Nouveau District
More than a third of Riga's central buildings are Art Nouveau; Alberta iela and Elizabetes iela have the richest examples.
Where: Quiet Centre
Admission: Free