the Freedom Monument from 1935 commemorates the fallen soldiers in the independence war
the Large Guild House
the Dome Cathedral goes back to 1211
the Stock Exchange building from 1852 now serves as Art Museum
the famous Three Brothers, dating from the 15th century
view from atop the St Peter's Church with the Dome Cathedral and the Vansu Bridge
the entrance to St Peter's Church
the Bremen Town Musicians peer through the Iron Curtain
The Nativity of Christ Cathedral
the Small Guild House
Latvia's capital
Riga sits near where the
Daugava River flows into the Gulf of Riga. This river was part of the
Viking
trade route from Scandinavia all the way to Byzantium and there has been a trading post here since ancient times.
Around 1160
German traders arrived to do business and bring Christianity to the pagans. But conversion was slow and an army
of German crusaders was needed to enforce the Holy Gospel and bring Riga under the rule of the
Teutonic Order.
Riga joined
the
Hanseatic League in 1278 which brought considerable wealth to the city..
This wealth can still be seen in Riga's
Old Town which was rebuild after devastating bombardments by the German Luftwaffe during WW II.
Today Riga is home to about 1/3 of the Latvian
population.
We visited Riga in July 2016.
Riga's skyline as seen from the Vansu bridge over the Daugava River
St. Mary Magdalene's Church
the House of the Blackheads was restored in 1999
the Cathouse from 1909
looking south, the Radio and TV Tower from 1989 is 368 meters high
