Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Riga was founded in 1201, and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture. [13] Riga was the European Capital of Culture in 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden.
The history of Riga, the capital of Latvia, begins as early as the 2nd century with a settlement, the Duna urbs, at a natural harbor not far upriver from the mouth of the Daugava River. Later settled by Livs and Kurs, it was already an established trade center in the early Middle Ages along the Dvina-Dnieper trade route to Byzantium.
1721 – Riga becomes part of Russian empire. [4] 1728 – St. Peter and St. Paul Church built (approximate date). [citation needed] 1765 – City Hall built. [4] 1773 Great Cemetery and Pokrov Cemetery established. Himsel Museum established. [11] 1781 – City becomes capital of Riga viceroyalty. [1] 1782 – The Riga City Theater is founded. [12]
Riga Museum of History and Navigation (Rīgas vēstures un kuģniecības muzejs) - one of the largest and oldest museums in Latvia and Baltic states. The Powder Tower ( Pulvertornis ) - the only tower that remains from the original city walls ; the Latvian Museum of War is located inside.
The Art Nouveau architecture in Riga makes up roughly one third of all the buildings in the centre of Riga, making Latvia's capital the city with the highest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture anywhere in the world. Built during a period of rapid economic growth, most of Riga's Art Nouveau buildings date from between 1904 and 1914.
In 2013 Riga hosted the annual Northern Future Forum, a two-day informal meeting of the prime ministers of the Nordic-Baltic countries and the UK. [148] The Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe or e-Pine is the U.S. Department of State diplomatic framework for co-operation with the Nordic-Baltic countries. [149]
The aerial view of Riga Central Market's pavilions. Riga Central Market (Latvian: Rīgas Centrāltirgus) is Europe's largest [1] market and bazaar in Riga, Latvia. [2] [3] [4] It is one of the most notable structures from 20th century in Latvia [5] and has been included in UNESCO World Heritage Site list together with Old Riga in 1998.
Riga was dominated first by Germans, later by Sweden and then by Russian Empire until Latvia, with Riga as its capital city, thus declared its independence on 18 November 1918. After World War II Latvia was incorporated in to Soviet Union, however it restored its independence in early 1990s. In 2001, Riga celebrated its 800th anniversary as a city.