Capital of: Latvia
Location: Where the Daugave River feeds
into the bay of Riga, which opens into the Baltic Sea
Population:
695,539
(on July 1st
2013 according to the City Website)
Mayor:
Nils Ušakovs (I feel the need to note that he
is only 37)
Possible
English meanings: Loop, referring the to the shape of the coast that
Riga lies on; or Threshing barn, thanks to it being an East-West
trade route.
Significant
sights, or sites: Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, Swedish Gate,
St. Peter's, Freedom Monument, Central Market, Latvian Ethnographic
Open-Air Museum, Museum of History of Riga and Navigation, Riga
Castle.
Demographics:
(2011 census data):
Latvians 46.33%, Russians 40.21%, Belarusians 3.88%, Ukrainians
3.45%, Poles 1.85%, Lithuanians 0.83%, other ethnicities 3.46%
Public
Transportation: There are Street cars, buses and and Trolley Buses,
as well as a passenger train that takes one, not only from the centre
of the city to the outskirts, but also to the rest of Latvia and to
other Baltic states as well as Russia. There are also boat tours
around the port part of the city and a ferry that goes from Riga to
Stockholm.
Airport:
Riga International Airport (RIX)
North
American sister city: Dallas (Texas), Providence (Rhode Island)
Sister
Cities that Nancy and I have been to: Taipei (Taiwan)
Founding
and brief history: Riga was officially founded in 1201 by Bishop
Albert (with the help of some underhanded tactics that Romulus and
Remus would have appreciated), but many sources note that was a
Viking and Germanic trading post long before, perhaps dating as far
back as 200 AD. It would appear that the first ethnic Latvians
appeared in the area about the 11th
century. Bishop Albert left the construction of a Christened city and
returned to Germany with 30 important hostages in toe to assure the
good behaviour of the local Latvian chiefs. Riga developed as a
Christian town and then city that became important in trade routes
once again, being on a big river that led eventually into Russia.
Because of this Riga quickly became a free Imperial City of the Holy
Roman Empire and member of the Hanseatic league and prospered
further. But prosperity also leads to envy and Riga, between 1300
and 1900, came under the control or dominance of far more powerful
(militarily) alliances. It changed hands from its Free city status
to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and then to Sweden and finally
in 1710, after a siege, Peter the Great's Imperial Russia. Riga
retained a fair amount of autonomy under all of its overlords and was
the 3rd
largest city (as well as the most industrially advanced) in Russia by
1900. After the first world war, Riga and what is now Latvia
declared independence, which lasted until the Stalinist Soviet Union
took it over in 1940 on the way to Poland. Nazi Germany took it over
in 1941 on their way into the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union took
it back over 1944 (on their way to Germany). With the fall of the
Soviet Union, Riga and Latvia, once more gained independence in 1991.
In 2004 Latvia joined NATO and the EU.
When
I first realized Riga existed: not really sure, I was only vaguely
aware of the Baltic states until we got the bit map in our apartment.
I heard the Latvian capital's name when I was listening to the news
about the supermarket collapse sometime in November 2013.
Initial
research sources:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Riga
https://www.riga.lv/EN/Channels/About_Riga/default.htm
http://www.eunet.lv/Riga/history.html
In-depth
research sources:
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