Riga, Latvia was more of an afterthought for me. I added it onto a trip to Tallinn to visit the Christmas market. I love when you have no expectations for a place and then they blow you away. That was Riga for me. I may make a small commission from these links at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Read my full disclosure HERE. Riga is the capital and largest city of the Baltic country of Latvia and has roughly , residents. There are multiple bridges that span the river since the city is on both sides. The old town, however, is small and concentrated entirely on the east bank.
The history of Riga is incredibly complex. Riga was founded in around the time when German merchants and Christian missionaries arrived. Throughout the centuries that followed, war and many changes in power Polish and Swedish led to different cultural influences but Baltic Germans remained a dominant group. German remained the official language until when Russian was made the official language of the Baltics under Russian Empire rule.
As a result of WW1, the Baltic countries were given to Germany in in a treaty with Russia only for that treaty to be renounced when Germany lost the war and the Baltic countries claimed their independence in from both Russia and Germany. This was followed by a period of instability and chaos and a war of independence.
During WW2, the Baltic countries were occupied by the Soviet Union initially with rigged elections for a pro-Soviet government. Massive executions and deportations began of anyone involved in the previous democratic government, and the KGB headquarters were set up,. From , Riga was occupied by Nazi Germany. It was a very confusing time because some Latvians celebrated the arrival of Nazis to liberate them from the Soviet Union.
