Amazingly for a city which survived two world wars, the formerly walled section of the Latvian capital city which is known as “Old Riga” has preserved a glorious range of old, older and very old buildings.
From the magnificence of the Riga Dome Cathedral, which dates back the 13th century, and the fantastic Gothic façade of St Peter’s Church, to the oldest residential buildings in the city – the so-called “Three Brothers”, to the small, decorative houses which surround Liv Square, to the newly rebuilt House of the Blackheads and the newly built City Hall, Old Riga is truly a masterpiece of architecture and antiquity.
In the 21st century, Old Riga has adapted itself to the stream of tourists who pass through year-round, with cosy hotels, numerous eateries and a variety of attractions, but the ancient spirit of the city is never lost, particularly when the visitor wanders through some of the surprisingly narrow streets and alleyways which crisscross the old city.
Yes, Latvia is a relatively small country, and yes, Riga is the capital city of a relatively small country, but that is only when the measuring stick is the globalised world of the 21st century.
During the Middle Ages Riga was a mighty seaport, the largest city in the Swedish Empire during the 17th century, a leading port for the Russian Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries, and a powerhouse centre for commerce and trade in the entire region. This status was facilitated by Riga’s membership in the Medieval Hanseatic League, described one author as “not so much a league of cities as a league of merchant associations within the cities of Northern Germany and the Baltic.”
The Hanseatic days are remembered in Old Riga through the historical Great Guild and Small Guild, as well as the rebuilt House of the Blackheads – all of them artisans and craftsmen’s guilds in the booming city.
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