Riga, Latvia

Riga is the capital of Latvia, and the largest capital of the three Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). Often called the "Paris of the East" due to its rich art nouveau architecture, Riga is a prominent European tourist destination. Additionally, since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Riga has seen enormous economic growth, and with Latvian membership in the European Union (EU) granted in 2004, the city of Riga hopes to further expand its economic stability in the twenty-first century.

Landscape

Riga is located on the Gulf of Riga, which is a natural protected harbor on the Baltic Sea. The city itself is located in a basin where several rivers, the largest of which is the Daugava River, drain into the gulf. The mouth of the Daugava River forms the harbor of the city and centuries of silt accumulation have created numerous islands and peninsulas in the harbor. The port of Riga is also a major shipping center, and was the site of a modernization project. Like the rest of Latvia, Riga is flat, with the highest elevation being a mere 9 meters (27 feet) above sea level.

The climate of Riga is mild and temperate during the summer months but severely cold in the winter. The average summer temperature is a mild 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) but winter temperatures plunge to an average of –7.3 degrees Celsius (19 degrees Fahrenheit). Winter snowfall and autumn rain make up for a majority of the precipitation in Riga and the climate is wet with an average annual precipitation of 636 millimeters (25 inches).

People

The US Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook estimated that as of 2023, the population of Riga stood at 621,000 inhabitants. Independence in the late twentieth century brought relaxed emigration restrictions, and the urban population of Riga has steadily declined from an all-time high of 909,000 in 1990. This demographic shift is also explained by the fact that during the Soviet period, the government encouraged ethnic Russian and Belarusian immigrants to settle in Riga. Following independence, the Latvian government refused to automatically grant citizenship to these new arrivals.

According to the 2021 census, Latvians accounted for about 47.4 percent of the city's population, with Russians accounting for roughly 40 percent of the population, followed by Belarussians and Ukrainians at between 3 and 4 percent each. Tensions continue to exist between these ethnic Latvians and the other communities. With immigration rates still rising, the Latvian government began implementing long-term plans to encourage economic development in Riga to slow the flow of immigration and keep Riga Latvian.

While Latvian remains the official language of Riga, many inhabitants also speak Russian or German, and English is becoming increasingly common. While the city itself is famous for its medieval and Renaissance churches, the population is relatively secular; it was estimated in 2004 that only 7 percent of the city's population regularly attends religious services. Nonetheless, the dominant religion in Latvia is Christianity, with the largest groups being Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic.

Economy

Riga underwent an economic boom in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries that coincided with skyrocketing growth rates throughout the Baltic States. Economists refer to this boom as the "Baltic Tiger." In all three countries, gross domestic product (GDP) rates grew between 5 and 12 percent per year between 2000 and 2007. As for much of the world though, the boom in Latvia ground to a halt with the global financial crisis of 2008.

By privatizing public industries and encouraging foreign investment, the Latvian government has helped integrate the economy with the more developed economies of Western Europe and the United States. However, Riga continues to provide a special economic boost for the country by being a major transit point for goods from Latvia, Russia, and Asia. Due to the strained capacity of US ports, several American companies have expressed interest in utilizing Riga as a transit point on a "New Silk Road," which would bring Chinese goods across Asia and to American ports on the East Coast.

Much like Estonia to the north, Latvia has tried to develop an information technology industry in Riga. Estonian dominance of these industries in the Baltic states, however, somewhat limited Riga to more traditional industries such as chemical processing, textiles, papermaking, and communication equipment. However, the significant economic strides have helped make the financial services sector a major part of the economy, a transition helped by the presence of the Bank of Latvia, which is headquartered in the city. In 2018, the city government began efforts to establish a science and innovation footprint in the city in hopes of redefining Riga’s infrastructure by 2030. As a sign of a commitment to secure investments, the country's first IKEA store opened in Riga in 2018. According to the Riga City Council City Development Department, 53 percent of all commercial companies registered in the country were located in Riga as of 2022, and the city's unemployment rate was 4.2 percent.

The Latvian government has also invested substantially in modernizing and expanding the Riga International Airport, the largest airport of the Baltic countries. The city has already benefited from this expansion by the large number of tourists visiting Riga during the spring and summer months, and a large seasonal service economy has developed.

Latvia joined the European Union in 2004.

Landmarks

Famous for its narrow winding streets, the Old Town of Riga, or the Vercriga, is the historic medieval center of the city that was declared a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1997. While much of the medieval character of the Old Town remains, the architecture in the area is predominantly art nouveau, from the late nineteenth century period when the prosperous city renovated the quarter with a distinctly Latvian style. Inspired by Austrian, Finnish, and German architects, this style combines natural Latvian building materials of stone and wood with the folk customs and cultures of Latvia. Characterized by steep roofs, heavy walls, and unique ornamental motifs, the art nouveau buildings helped transform Riga into the "Paris of the East."

Also in the Old City is the medieval Town Hall Square, where the city government was located during the initial settlement of the city. Part of the Latvian government is located in the nearby Riga Castle, which was built in the fourteenth century and serves as the residence and offices for the president of Latvia. Heavily redesigned in the seventeenth century, the Riga Castle is a classic example of the Northern European baroque architectural style.

The Doma Cathedral remains one of the most famous landmarks in Riga. Built on the banks of the Daugava River, the Protestant Doma Cathedral is one of the largest medieval cathedrals in the Baltic region. Since the seventeenth century, the cathedral has been most famous for its precise acoustics. In 1884, the German firm E.F. Walcker and Co. designed a pipe organ specifically for the cathedral. With 6,758 pipes, the organ is famous throughout Europe, and concerts are held there on a monthly basis.

Just outside the city is the Riga Television Tower, one of the highest structures in Europe. At 368.5 meters (1,209 feet) tall, the tower is built on the island of Zakusala on the Dauguva River. Designed by the Soviets and constructed in 1986, it is among the tallest structures in the world.

History

Riga was settled by the Livonians, an ancient Finnic tribe, during the first millennium BCE. The city was a small settlement beside the Daugava River until the twelfth century when a loose colonial army of German traders, mercenaries, and missionaries arrived in Latvia. By 1200 CE, these new Baltic German settlers had converted the local tribes to Christianity and heavily fortified the settlement of Riga.

Riga soon became an important trading post between Northern Europe and Russia. In 1282, Riga became a member of the Hanseatic League, a German mercantile union formed to encourage and facilitate trade among the German cities of the Baltic Sea. The increased trade and revenue brought by membership in the league spurred further development in Riga, and the city became one of the most prosperous cities within the league.

With the advent of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, Riga largely converted to Protestantism and cemented its commercial and military alliances with other German Protestant towns. In 1581, Riga was briefly conquered by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which attempted to reimpose Roman Catholicism on the city. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–48), Protestant Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus expelled the Catholic armies in Latvia and Riga fell under Swedish influence for the next seventy years.

Tsar Peter the Great of Russia seized Riga from Sweden during the Great Northern War (1700–1721). The Treaty of Nystad in 1721 formalized Russian control over the Baltic region and Riga became a Russian city. During this Russian period, Riga benefited from the large numbers of Baltic Germans who continued to use the city as a mercantile base. By 1900, Riga had the third largest industrial population in the Russian Empire. The wealth and trade from the industrial boom allowed the middle class to build the art nouveau buildings for which Riga is famous.

The First World War and the Bolshevik Revolution collapsed the Russian monarchy, and Latvia declared independence from Russia on November 18, 1918. With Riga as its capital, the short-lived Republic of Latvia spent the interwar years cultivating commercial contacts with Western Europe and the United States.

German and Russian collusion ended Latvian independence in 1940 when troops from the Soviet Union invaded the country. In the following year, Riga was occupied by German troops invading Latvia as part of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Under Adolf Hitler's direct orders, a majority of the Baltic German community was repatriated back to Germany in 1942–44. During the same period, Riga's populous Jewish community was rounded up and sent to nearby concentration camps for execution during the Holocaust.

By the end of the war, Riga was back under Soviet control. Soviet leaders attempted to suppress Latvian nationalism by importing large numbers of Russian settlers into Riga and the surrounding areas. While this significantly changed the demographics of Riga, it did not prevent Latvians from declaring independence from the Soviet Union on August 21, 1991, after the Soviet government's collapse.

In the years since independence, Riga has regained some of its previous reputation as a business and commercial center. Latvian membership in both North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the EU has further cemented its ties with Western Europe and the United States.

On November 18, 2018, Riga was a center of celebrations that took place throughout the country to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of Latvia's independence, including a ceremonial parliamentary meeting held at the city's Latvian National Theatre, the site of the original proclamation.

Bibliography

Borchard, Rolf Reiner Maria. Riga. Menges, 1999.

Cybriwsky, Roman A. Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture. ABC-CLIO, 2013.

"The Economic Profile of the City of Riga." Riga City Council City Development Department, 2023, investinlatvia.org/assets/upload/The%20Economic%20profile%20of%20city%20Riga.pdf. Accessed 27 Feb. 2024.

"Latvia." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 20 Feb. 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/latvia/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2024.

"Population." Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, stat.gov.lv/en/statistics-themes/population. Accessed 27 Feb. 2024.

Plakans, Andrejs. The Latvians: A Short History. Hoover Institution P, 1995.

Purs, Aldis. Baltic Facades: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania since 1945. Reaktion, 2012.