Founding The river
Daugava has been a
trade route since antiquity, part of the
Vikings' Dvina–Dnieper navigation route to Byzantium. A sheltered
natural harbor upriver from the mouth of the Daugava—the site of today's Riga—has been recorded, as
Duna Urbs, as early as the 2nd century. arrived to convert the Livonian pagans to Christianity.
Catholic and
Orthodox Christianity had already arrived in Latvia more than a century earlier, and many Latvians had been baptized. In 1198, the
Bishop Berthold arrived with a contingent of
crusaders and 500 Westphalian crusaders. In 1201, he transferred the seat of the Livonian bishopric from Uexküll to Riga, extorting agreement to do this from the elders of Riga by force. To defend territory and trade, Albert established the
Order of Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1202, which was open to nobles and merchants.
King Philip invested Albert with Livonia as a fief and principality of the
Holy Roman Empire. Until then, it had been customary for crusaders to serve for a year and then return home. Riga was not yet secure as an alliance of tribes failed to take Riga. Riga's merchant citizenry chafed and sought greater autonomy from the Church. In 1221, they acquired the right to independently self-administer Riga That same year Albert was compelled to recognise Danish rule over lands they had conquered in Estonia and Livonia. Albert had sought the aid of
King Valdemar of Denmark to protect Riga and Livonian lands against Liv insurrection when reinforcements could not reach Riga. The Danes landed in Livonia, built a fortress at Reval (
Tallinn) and set about conquering Estonian and Livonian lands. The Germans attempted, but failed, to assassinate Valdemar. Albert was able to reach accommodation with them a year later, however, and in 1222 Valdemar returned all Livonian lands and possessions to Albert's control. Albert's difficulties with Riga's citizenry continued; with papal intervention, a settlement was reached in 1225 whereby they no longer had to pay tax to the Bishop of Riga, and Riga's citizens acquired the right to elect their magistrates and town councillors. and the city of Riga concluded a treaty with the
Principality of Smolensk giving Polotsk to Riga. Albert died in January 1229. He failed in his aspiration to be anointed archbishop With the demise of the
Livonian Order (1561) during the
Livonian War, Riga for twenty years had the status of a
free imperial city of the
Holy Roman Empire before it came under the influence of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by the
Treaty of Drohiczyn, which ended the war for Riga in 1581. In 1621, during the
Polish–Swedish War (1621–1625), Riga and the outlying fortress of
Daugavgrīva came under the rule of
Gustavus Adolphus,
King of Sweden, who intervened in the
Thirty Years' War not only for political and economic gain but also in favour of German
Lutheran Protestantism. During the
Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658), Riga withstood a siege by Russian forces. Riga remained one of the largest cities under the Swedish crown until 1710, a period during which the city retained a great deal of autonomous self-government. In July 1701, during the opening phase of the
Great Northern War, the
Crossing of the Düna took place nearby, resulting in a victory for king
Charles XII of Sweden. Between November 1709 and June 1710, however, the Russians under
Tsar Peter the Great besieged and captured Riga, which was at the time
struck by a plague. Along with the other Livonian towns and gentry,
Riga capitulated to Russia, but largely retained their privileges. Riga was made the capital of the
Governorate of Riga (later, Livonia).
Sweden's northern dominance had ended, and Russia's
emergence as the strongest Northern power was formalised through the
Treaty of Nystad in 1721. At the beginning of the 20th century, Riga was the largest timber export port in the Russian Empire and ranked the 3rd according to the external trade volume. During these many centuries of war and changes of power in the Baltic, and despite demographic changes, the
Baltic Germans in Riga had maintained a dominant position. By 1867, Riga's population was 42.9% German. Riga employed German as its
official language of administration until the installation of Russian in 1891 as the official language in the
Baltic provinces, as part of the policy of
Russification of the non-Russian-speaking territories of the Russian Empire, including
Congress Poland, Finland and the Baltics, undertaken by
Tsar Alexander III. More and more Latvians started moving to the city during the mid-19th century. The rise of a Latvian
bourgeoisie made Riga a centre of the
Latvian National Awakening with the founding of the Riga Latvian Association in 1868 and the organisation of the first national song festival in 1873. In 1897, Riga was the sixth largest city in the Russian Empire. The nationalist movement of the
Neo-Latvians was followed by the socialist
New Current during the city's rapid industrialisation, culminating in the
1905 Revolution led by the
Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party.
World War I ) was a German language newspaper in Riga during the early 20th century. The 20th century brought
World War I and the impact of the
Russian Revolution of 1917 to Riga. As a result of the
battle of Jugla, the
German army marched into Riga on 3 September 1917. On 3 March 1918, the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, giving the
Baltic countries to Germany. Because of the
armistice with Germany of 11 November 1918, Germany had to renounce that treaty, as did Russia, leaving Latvia and the other Baltic States in a position to claim independence. Latvia, with Riga as its capital city, thus declared its independence on 18 November 1918. Between World War I and World War II (1918–1940), Riga and Latvia shifted their focus from Russia to the countries of Western Europe. The United Kingdom and Germany replaced Russia as Latvia's major trade partners. The majority of the Baltic Germans
were resettled in late 1939, prior to the occupation of Estonia and Latvia by the Soviet Union in June 1940.
World War II and Soviet era and
St. Peter's Church during World War II During
World War II, Latvia was occupied by the
Soviet Union in June 1940 and then was occupied by
Nazi Germany in 1941–1944. On 17 June 1940, the Soviet forces invaded Latvia occupying bridges, post/telephone, telegraph, and broadcasting offices. Three days later, Latvian president
Kārlis Ulmanis was forced to approve a pro-Soviet government which had taken office. On 14–15 July, rigged elections were held in Latvia and the other Baltic states, The ballots held the following instructions: "Only the list of the
Latvian Working People's Bloc must be deposited in the ballot box. The ballot must be deposited without any changes." The alleged voter activity index was 97.6%. Most notably, the complete election results were published in Moscow 12 hours before the election closed. Soviet electoral documents found later substantiated that the results were completely fabricated. The Soviet authorities, having regained control over Riga and Latvia imposed a regime of terror, opening the headquarters of the
KGB, massive deportations started. Hundreds of men were arrested, including leaders of the former Latvian government. The most notorious deportation, the
June deportation, took place on 13 and 14 June 1941, estimated at 15,600 men, women, and children, and including 20% of Latvia's last legal government. Similar deportations were repeated after the end of World War II. The building of the KGB located at 61
Brīvības iela, known as 'the corner house', is now a museum. Stalin's deportations also included thousands of
Latvian Jews. The mass deportation totalled 131,500 across the Baltics. During the Nazi occupation, the
Jewish community was forced into the
Riga Ghetto and a
Nazi concentration camp was constructed in
Kaiserwald. On 25 October 1941, the Nazis relocated all Jews from Riga and the vicinity to the ghetto. Most of Latvia's Jews (about 24,000) were killed on 30 November and 8 December 1941 in the
Rumbula massacre. By the end of the war, the remaining
Baltic Germans were
expelled to Germany.
Red Army in front of the
Freedom Monument in Riga in 1944 The Soviet Red Army reconquered Riga on 13 October 1944. In the following years the massive influx of labourers, administrators, military personnel, and their dependents from Russia and other Soviet republics started.
Microdistricts of the large multi-storied housing blocks were built to house immigrant workers. By the end of World War II,
Riga's historical centre was heavily damaged from constant bombing. After the war, huge efforts were made to reconstruct and renovate most of the famous buildings that had been part of the skyline of the city before the war. Such buildings were, amongst others,
St. Peter's Church which lost its wooden tower after a fire caused by the
Wehrmacht (renovated in 1954). Another example is the
House of the Blackheads, completely destroyed, its ruins subsequently demolished; a
facsimile was constructed in 1995. In 1989, the percentage of Latvians in Riga had fallen to 36.5%.
21st century in 2012 In 2004, the arrival of
low-cost airlines resulted in cheaper flights from other European cities such as London and Berlin, and consequently a substantial increase in numbers of tourists. On 21 November 2013, the
roof of a supermarket collapsed in
Zolitūde, one of the neighbourhoods of the city, possibly as a result of the weight of materials used in the construction of a garden on the roof. Fifty-four people were killed. Latvian President
Andris Bērziņš described the disaster as "a large-scale murder of many defenceless people". (left) and
Saules akmens (right) Riga was the
European Capital of Culture in 2014. During Latvia's
Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2015, the 4th
Eastern Partnership Summit took place in Riga. Following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the
Saeima voted to suspend the functioning of a section of an agreement between Latvia and Russia regarding the preservation of memorial structures on 12 May, in the next day the
Riga City Council also voted to demolish the
Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders. On 20 May, a rally called "Getting Rid of Soviet Heritage" took place in Riga to call for removing Soviet monuments in Latvia, it was attended by approximately 5,000 people. The demolition began 22 August 2022 and on 25 August 2022, the obelisk was toppled. In 2022, after the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, the street on which the Embassy of the Russian Federation is located was renamed "Independent Ukraine Street". Despite legal changes, problems have arisen in the city in relation to large construction and reconstruction projects with developers increasingly looking for opportunities to use underground spaces. While this opens up the possibility for new archaeological research to be undertaken, it is decreasing in situ archaeological preservation. == Geography ==