RIGA

'Riga' () the capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states.
The Historic Centre of Riga has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city is particularly notable for its extensive Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) architecture, comparable in significance only with Vienna and Saint Petersburg.

Contents

Business and commerce

Population

History

Climate

Sights

Development and future

Riga's neighbourhoods

Riga in different languages

Notable people

Sister cities

See also

References

External links

Business and commerce

Business and leisure travel to Riga has increased significantly in recent years due to improved infrastructure. Riga as a city-port is a major transportation hub and is the center of the local road and railway system. Most tourists travel to Riga by air via Riga International Airport, the largest airport in the Baltic states, which was renovated and modernized in 2001 on the occasion of Riga's 800th anniversary. Air traffic at the airport has doubled between 1993 and 2004. Baltic sea ferries connect Riga to Stockholm, Kiel and Lübeck. Riga was also home to two air bases during the Cold War: Rumbula and Spilve.
Almost all important Latvian financial institutions are located in Riga, including the Bank of Latvia, which is Latvia's central bank. Foreign commercial trade through Riga has been on the increase in recent years and received new impetus on May 1, 2004 when Latvia became a member of the European Union. Riga accounts for about half of the total industrial output of Latvia, focusing on the financial sector, public utilities, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, wood processing, printing and publishing, textiles and furniture, and communications equipment manufacturing. The port of Riga is an important cargo shipping center.

Population

Year Population 1767 19,500 1800 29,500 1840 60,000 1867 102,600 1881 169,300 1897 282,200 1913 517,500 1920 ¹185,100 1930 377,900 1940 353,800

Year Population 1941 335,200 1945 ²228,200 1950 482,300 1955 566,900 1959 580,400 1965 665,200 1970 731,800 1975 795,600 1979 835,500 1987 900,300

Year Population 1990 909,135 1991 900,455 1992 889,741 1993 863,657 1994 843,552 1995 824,988 1996 810,172 1997 797,947 1998 786,612 1999 776,008

Year Population 2000 764,329 2001 756,627 2002 747,157 2003 739,232 2004 735,241 2005 731,762 2006 727,578

With 727,578 inhabitants as of 2006, Riga is the largest city in the Baltic States, though its population has been on the decrease since 1991. Notable causes include out-migration and low fertility rates. Some have estimated that the population may fall by as much as 50% by 2050.^[1] According to the 2001 data, native Latvians make up 41.5% of the population of Riga, with percentage of Russians at 43.5%, Belarusians at 4.6%, Ukrainians at 4.1%, Poles at 2.1%, and others at 4.3%.^[2] By comparison, 59% of Latvia's inhabitants are native Latvians, 28.5% are Russians, 3.8% are Belarusians, 2.5% are Ukrainians, 2.4% are Polish, 1.4% are Lithuanians and the remaining 2.4% are accounted for by other nationalities (2006). Most Latvians are Protestant Evangelical Lutheran Christians (a minority are Roman Catholics), whereas most Russians belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. Upon restoration of Latvian independence in 1991, Soviet-era migrants (and any of their offspring born before 1991) were not automatically granted Latvian citizenship. Some have emigrated; this partially accounts for the recent decline in Riga's population. As a result of this repatriation of some Soviet-era migrants, the proportion of Latvians in Riga has slightly increased.

History

Riga is located at the site of an ancient settlement of the Livonians, an ancient Finnic tribe, at the junction of the Daugava and Ridzene () rivers. The Ridzene was originally known as the Riga River, at one point forming a natural harbor called the Riga Lake, neither of which exist today ^[3]. Some believe that the name of the river gave Riga its name.
The modern founding of Riga is regarded by historians to have begun with the arrival in Latvia of German traders, mercenaries and religious crusaders in the second half of the 12th century, attracted by a sparsely populated region, potential new markets and by the missionary opportunities to convert the local population to Christianity. German merchants established an outpost for trading with the Balts near the Liv settlement at Riga in 1158. The Augustinian monk Meinhard built a monastery there ca. 1190.

The Doma Cathedral weather cock

Bishop Albert was proclaimed Bishop of Livonia by his uncle Hartwig, Archbishop of Bremen and Hamburg in 1199. He landed in Riga in 1201 with 23 ships and more than 1500 armed crusaders, making Riga his bishopric. He established the Order of Livonian Brothers of the Sword (later a branch of the Teutonic Knights) and granted Riga city rights in that same year. Albert was successful in converting the King of the Livs, Caupo of Turaida, to Christianity, although, as related in the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia ("Henricus Lettus"), it took him three decades to gain full control of Livonia (German ''Livland''). Riga as well as Livonia and Prussia came under the auspices of the Holy Roman (German) Empire. It was not until much later, at the time of Martin Luther, that Riga, Livonia and Prussia converted to Protestantism.

Classical view of Riga's Skyline

Riga served as a gateway to trade with the Baltic tribes and with Russia. In 1282 Riga became a member of the Hanseatic League (German ''Hanse'', English ''Hansa''). The Hansa developed out of an association of merchants into a loose trade and political union of North German and Baltic cities and towns. Due to its economic protectionist policies which favored its German members, the League was very successful, but its exclusionist policies produced competitors. Its last Diet convened in 1669, although its powers were already weakened by the end of the 14th century, when political alliances between Lithuania and Poland and between Sweden, Denmark and Norway limited its influence. Nevertheless, the Hansa was instrumental in giving Riga economic and political stability, thus providing the city with a strong foundation which endured the political conflagrations that were to come, down to modern times.

Riga's Central Market pavilions and Science Academy Building

As the influence of the Hansa waned, Riga became the object of foreign military, political, religious and economic aspirations. Riga accepted the Reformation in 1522, ending the power of the archbishops. In 1524, a venerated statue of the Virgin Mary in the Cathedral was denounced as a witch, and given a trial by water in the Daugava or Dvina River. The statue floated, so it was denounced as a witch and burnt at Kubsberg^[4]. With the demise of the Teutonic Knights in 1561, Riga for twenty years had the status of a Free Imperial City, then in 1581, Riga came under the influence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Attempts to reinstitute Roman Catholicism in Riga and southern Livonia failed as in 1621, Riga and the outlying fortress of Daugavgriva came under the rule of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, who intervened in the Thirty Years' War not only for political and economic gain but also in favor of German Lutheran Protestantism. During the Russo-Swedish War, 1656-1658, Riga withstood a siege by Russians. Riga remained the second largest city under Swedish control until 1710 during a period in which the city retained a great deal of self-government autonomy. In that year, in the course of Great Northern War, Russia under Tsar Peter the Great invaded Riga. Sweden's northern dominance ended, and Russia's emergence as the strongest Northern power was formalized through the Treaty of Nystad in 1721. Riga was annexed by Russia and became an industrialized port city of the Russian empire, where it remained until World War I. By 1900, Riga was the third largest city in Russia after Moscow and St. Petersburg in terms of numbers of industrial workers.

Riga in 1650 (''Drawing by Johann Christoph Brotze'')

During these many centuries of war and changes of power in the Baltic, the Baltic Germans in Riga, successors to Albert's merchants and crusaders, clung to their dominant position despite demographic changes. Riga even employed German as its official language of administration until the imposition of Russian language in 1891 as the official language in the Baltic provinces. All birth, marriage and death records were kept in German up to that year. Latvians began to supplant Germans as the largest ethnic group in the city in the mid-19th century, however, and by 1897 the population was 45% Latvian (up from 23.6% in 1867), 23.8% German (down from 42.9% in 1867), 16.1% Russian, 6% Jewish, 4.8% Polish, 2.3% Lithuanian, and 1.3% Estonian. The rise of a Latvian bourgeoisie made Riga a center of the Latvian National Awakening with the founding of the Riga Latvian Association in 1868 and the organization of the first national song festival in 1873. The nationalist movement of the Young Latvians was followed by the socialist New Current during the city's rapid industrialization, culminating in the 1905 Revolution led by the Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party.

A view of Riga on a postcard from around 1900.

The 20th century brought World War I and the impact of the Russian Revolution to Riga. The German army marched into Riga in 1917. In 1918 the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed giving the Baltic countries to Germany. Because of the Armistice with Germany (Compiègne) of November 11, 1918, Germany had to renounce that treaty, as did Russia, leaving Latvia and the other Baltic States in a position to claim independence.
After more than 700 years of German, Swedish, Russian rule, Latvia, with Riga as its capital city, thus declared its independence on November 18, 1918. For more details, see History of Latvia.
Between World War I and World War II (1918–1940), Riga and Latvia shifted their focus from Russia to the countries of Western Europe. A democratic, parliamentary system of government with a President was instituted. Latvian was recognized as the official language of Latvia. Latvia was admitted to the League of Nations. The United Kingdom and Germany replaced Russia as Latvia's major trade partners. As a sign of the times, Latvia's first Prime Minister, Kārlis Ulmanis, had studied agriculture and worked as a lecturer at the University of Nebraska in the United States of America.

Laima Clock - a popular meeting place in Riga

Riga was described at this time as a vibrant, grand and imposing city and earned the title of "Paris of the North" from its visitors. This period of rebirth was short-lived, however, as World War II soon followed with Soviet occupation and annexation of Latvia in 1940, German occupation in 1941-1944. The Baltic Germans were forcibly repatriated to Germany at Hitler's behest, after 700 years in Riga. The Jewish community was forced into a ghetto in the Maskavas neighbourhood, and a concentration camp in Kaizerwald. Hundreds of thousands of Latvians perished and thousands fled into exile in countries all over the world. Latvia lost one-third of its population. The Soviet Union resumed control over Latvia with the defeat of Nazism.
The Soviet occupation after the war was marked by deportations of many Latvians to Siberia and elsewhere, on the charge that they collaborated with the Nazis. Forced industrialization and planned large-scale immigration of large numbers of non-Latvians from other Soviet republics into Riga, particularly Russians, changed the demographic composition of Riga. High-density apartment developments, such as Purvciems, Zolitude, and Ziepniekkalns ringed the city's edge, linked to the center by electric railways. By 1975 less than 40% of Riga's inhabitants were ethnically Latvian, a percentage which has risen since Latvian independence.
In 1986 the modern landmark of Riga, the Riga Radio and TV Tower, whose design is reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower, was completed.
The policy of economic reform introduced as Perestroika by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev led to a situation in the late 1980s in which many Soviet republics, including Latvia, were able to regain their liberty and freedom (see Latvia). Latvia declared its full ''de facto'' independence on August 21, 1991 and that independence was recognized by Russia on September 6, 1991. Latvia formally joined the United Nations as an independent country on September 17, 1991. All Russian military forces were removed from 1992 to 1994.

Riga Doma Cathedral in the mist

★ In 2001, Riga celebrated its 800th anniversary as a city.

★ On March 29, 2004 Latvia joined NATO.

★ On May 1, 2004 Latvia joined the European Union.
In 2004, the arrival of low-cost airlines resulted in cheaper flights from other European cities such as London and Berlin and consequently a substantial increase in numbers of tourists. ^[5] However concerns have been expressed about the misbehaviour of some groups of tourists after two British tourists were caught urinating in Freedom Monument Square^[6] prompting the British embassy to issue advice to tourists to behave in a responsible way when drinking. ^[7]

View of the city from St. Peter's Church

Climate

Riga Annual Temperature

Sights

A cat on the top of a roof in the Old Town

View of the old town

★ The Doma Cathedral, considered the largest church in the Baltic states. Built in the 13th century, it was modified several times in its history. It has a magnificent organ that dates from 1844.

★ Riga Castle ('Rīgas Pils'), which houses the Museum of Latvian History and the Museum of Foreign Art.

★ St. Peter's Church, with its 123 m high tower.

★ St. John's Church, a small 13th-century chapel, behind St. Peter's Church.

★ The Powder Tower ('Pulvertornis'), the only tower that remains from the original city walls. The Latvian Museum of War is located inside.

★ Wooden architecture open air museum.

★ The Occupation Museum of Latvia, which documents the seizure and occupation of Latvia by different forces from 1918 to 1991.

★ Art Nouveau architecture on Central Riga streets such as Alberta and Elizabetes Iela.

★ Riga Radio and TV Tower - the third highest tower in Europe.

★ Motormuzejs (Motormuseum) - collection of retro automobiles, including some historically significant autos, for example, Brezhnev's and Stalin's limousines with waxworks of these political figures. Located in Mežciems.

★ Riga Zoo and Mežaparks(Forest Park) with a Ferris wheel.

★ Domina Shopping Centre - the largest shopping centre in the Baltic states (located in the North-West side of Purvciems).

★ Riga Circus - the only stationary circus in the Baltic States.

Development and future

In the near future, the face of Riga will undergo notable changes. In 2008, the first stage of the new Southern Bridge route across the Daugava will be completed.^[9] The Southern Bridge is currently the biggest construction project in Latvia, and will help to reduce traffic jams and the amount of traffic in the city centre.^[10] An another big construction project is the planned Riga Northern Transport Corridor,^[11] which is scheduled to start in 2010. The construction of a new landmark — the Latvian National Library building — is beginning in the autumn of 2007 and is due to be built by 2010.^[12] Currently discussions are underway in Riga council about the development of the central areas on the left bank of the Daugava. The major dispute surrounds plans to build skyscrapers in Ķīpsala. The construction of 3 buildings in Ķīpsala has already started — the Da Vinci complex (25 floors, construction stopped) and two high-rises called Z-Towers (30 floors).^[13][14]

Riga's neighbourhoods

The Powder Tower of Riga

The city of Riga consists of six administrative regions, four of which are named after regions of Latvia - Kurzeme district, Latgale suburb, Vidzeme suburb, Zemgale suburb. There is also a Central District and a Northern district. Residents, however, divide Riga into residential neighbourhoods called ''micro regions.'' Unlike the city center, they are mostly residential although they are equipped with commercial sectors. These neighbourhoods include:

★ Āgenskalns - Left bank, old neighbourhood, mainly built in late 19th - early 20th century.

★ Andrejsala - An emerging art, culture and enterteinment district, located within former territory of the industrial port.

★ Beberbeķi - A neighbourhood consisting mainly of private houses, it lies on the western edge of the city. Swampy forest ''Mukupurvs'' and Riga Airport noise area devides it from the rest of the city.

★ Bolderāja - Left bank, Northernmost neighbourhood. 18th century fort bilt by Peter the Great is one of the oldest buildings in this part of the city.

★ Čiekurkalns - Right bank, old neighbourhood.

★ Dārzciems - Right bank, mainly consists of one- or two-story private houses.

★ Dreiliņi - A newly built neighbourhood in the eastern part of the city.

★ Dzirciems - Left bank, South of Iļģuciems.

★ Iļģuciems - Left bank, North of Āgenskalns.

★ Imanta - Left bank, newly-built neighbourhood.

★ Jugla - Right bank, large neighbourhood, lies just West of lake Juglas.

★ Ķengarags - Right bank, South-East of city center. One of the most inhabited neighbourhoods in town.

★ Ķīpsala - island located just West of the Old Town. Home to The Press Office and Exhibition Hall.

★ Maskavas Forštate - located South of the city centre.

★ Mežaparks - Right bank, consists largely of private houses. Notable for it's large forest-like park and the city zoo.

★ Mežciems - Right bank, just East of large Biķernieku forest.

★ Pārdaugava - Not really a neighbourhood by itself, but the name is frequently used when talking about Left bank, particularly Āgenskalns and Torņakalns.

★ Pleskodāle - A neighbourhood consisting mostly of private houses on the west side of the city. It borders Zolitūde and Šampēteris neighbourhoods.

★ Pļavnieki - Right bank, one of the town's most inhabited neighbourhoods.

★ Purvciems - Right bank.

★ Sarkandaugava - Right bank, East of the small river with the same name.

★ Šampēteris - An old neighbourhood on the best bank of Daugava, with many houses built in the first part of 20th century still surviving.

★ Šmerlis - Right bank, more of a forest than a neighbourhood, it is home to Riga's Cinema Studio.

★ Torņakalns - Left bank, old neighbourhood known for the Māras pond.

★ Vecmīlgrāvis - Right bank, cut off the mainland by a small river, Mīlgrāvis.

★ Vecrīga - Old Town.

★ Ziepniekkalns - Left bank, consists both of old and new buildings.

★ Zolitūde - Left bank, another newly-built neighbourhood, just South of Imanta.
Some common factors in these place names are "vec" meaning old [vecs], "kalns" meaning hill, "ciems" meaning village, "sala" meaning island and "mež" meaning forest [mežs].
'Panorama over Riga from Latvian Academy of Sciences'

Panorama från Stadshustornet

Riga in different languages

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Notable people

★ Vitālijs Astafjevs — footballer ★ Helmuts Balderis — ice hockey player ★ Mikhail Baryshnikov — famous dancer and actor ★ Isaiah Berlin — philosopher and Oxford academic ★ Andris Biedriņš — professional basketball player ★ DJ Lethal (b. Leor Dimant) — the DJ of the successful nu metal band Limp Bizkit ★ Aleksis Dreimanis — international quaternary geologist ★ Sergei Eisenstein — famous Soviet film director ★ Heinz Erhardt — German comedian ★ Laila Freivalds — former Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs ★ Philippe Halsman — photographer ★ Juris Hartmanis — computer scientist ★ Johann Gottfried Herder — German poet, critic, theologian, and philosopher ★ Artūrs Irbe — ice hockey player (NHL), goalkeeper ★ Ivans Klementjevs — canoeist ★ Gidon Kremer — famous violinist

★ Jānis Lūsis — four-time Olympian, winner of Olympic gold ★ Marie N — winner of Eurovision Song Contest 2002 ★ Aron Nimzowitsch — famous chess grandmaster ★ Wilhelm Ostwald — chemist, Nobel prize winner (1909) ★ Sandis Ozoliņš — ice hockey player, defenceman ★ Rosa von Praunheim — German film director ★ Arkady Raikin — legendary Soviet stand up comedian ★ Boris Schapiro — bridge player ★ Marie Seebach (1830–1897) German actress ★ Karlis Skrastins — ice hockey player, defenceman ★ Awsay Strok — music impresario ★ Mikhail Tal — the eighth world chess champion ★ Mikhail Zadornov — stand up comedian and writer ★ Friedrich Zander — pioneer of Soviet research in rocketry and spaceflight ★ Sergei Zholtok — ice hockey player, center forward

Sister cities

Riga maintains sister city relationships with the following cities:

Aalborg, Denmark (1989)	Florence, Italy	Slough, UK
Almati, Kazakhstan	Alicante, Spain	Calais, France
Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Cairns, Australia	Dunkirk, France (1960)
Astana, Kazakhstan	Kiev, Ukraine	Bordeaux, France
Kobe, Japan	Bremen, Germany	Moscow, Russia
Dallas, USA	Minsk, Belarus	Norrköping, Sweden
Beijing, China	Pori, Finland	Rostock, Germany
Saint Petersburg, Russia	Santiago, Chile	Stockholm, Sweden
Suzhou, China	Taipei, Taiwan	Tallinn, Estonia
Vilnius, Lithuania	Warsaw, Poland	Guam, USA
Providence, USA

See also

★ Public transport in Riga

★ Riga City Council

★ Archbishops of Riga

References

1. Latvia Looks West, But Legacy of Soviets Remains
2. Riga in Figures
3. Teritorija un administratīvās robežas vēsturiskā skatījumā
4. , , Diarmaid, MacCulloch, Penguin, 2003,
5. Latvia prepares for a tourist invasion Jonathan Charles
6. UK tourist urinates in Freedom Monument square
7. British embassy warns tourists in Latvia: think before you drink
8. Pogoda.ru.net
9. About the South Bridge
10. Southern Bridge project homepage
11. About the Northern Corridor
12. About the construction of the Castle of Light
13. Da Vinci project info
14. Z-Towers project description

External links

★ Virtual tour of old Riga

★ Riga Municipality portal

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