Riga

The Latvian capital Riga is the largest city of all three Baltic States. Much of the Old Town was destroyed during the Second World War, but huge efforts were made to rebuild Riga’s skyline after the war. Riga was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.

Riga’s Old Town is an architectural gem. From Romanesque to Gothic and Baroque, the cobbled streets of the medieval Old Town are lined with restaurants, cafes and shops. The Old Town is relatively compact and easily walkable on foot.

The best spot for a panoramic view of Riga’s red roofs is from St Peter’s Church. Dating back to 1209, St. Peter’s Church is Riga’s highest and oldest church, made in 13th-century Gothic style.

Today the opulent House of Blackheads is a museum, but originally it was built in 1344 as a fraternity house for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild of unmarried German merchants in Riga. The original House was bombed in 1941, along with almost all of the Town Hall Square and nearby St Peter’s church tower, and demolished by the Soviets seven years later. Fortunately the original blueprints survived and an exact replica was fully rebuilt in 1999.

The central market in Riga is the largest market in Europe. Housed inside First World War Zeppelin hangars, the market receives an average of 80,000-100,000 visitors every day. Browse fresh food stalls, pop-up restaurants, craft breweries and bars to get a real sense of Latvian flavours.

Riga has the highest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture anywhere in the world with over 800 buildings made in this style, which is most commonly seen on multi-storey apartment buildings. The Art Nouveau style involves intricate building facades, ornate doorways and windows with floral, mythological and nature-inspired decorations and sculptures. The Art Nouveau style buildings can be seen all over the centre of Riga, in particular on Albert Street (Alberta iela), about a 20-minute walk from the Old Town.

Located in-between the Old and New Town is the Freedom Monument, affectionately known as ‘Milda’ by locals. Unveiled in 1935, the 42-metre high monument is one of Latvia’s national symbols, representing freedom, independence and sovereignty. The female Liberty tops the monument, holding three gilded stars to represent the three districts of Latvia: Kurzeme, Vidzeme, Latgale. The monument managed to survive Soviet times, with plans of demolition never coming to fruition. Instead, its symbolism was reinterpreted, with the three stars being said to stand for the three Baltic Soviet Republics being held up by Mother Russia.