Today I would like to shed some light on a hidden Baltic gem – the neighborhood of Daugavgrīva, featuring the fortress of Daugavgriva.
Reed fields of Daugavgrīva
Daugavgrīva has become my happy place ever since I found out about its existence. In a different post I will explain more in-depth why the ability of observing the horizon makes for a strong personality and an unbreakable sense of identity, self-awareness and personal freedom.
Designing the walking paths through the neighborhood's best POIs. The forest was such a bad aesthetic decision...
When I was working on my thesis I asked some friends who visited the place with me what their opinion was, here are some of them:
D., Latvian:
Lousy place, I don't like it. [...] It's the closes place by the sea that you can reach from Rīga, 40 minutes by bus. It's OK during the day, but it's not so pleasant at night. Most of the schools are Russian-speaking. I think there is a sewage treatment plant somewhere in the neighborhood. I think it used to be an important place, the gate to the city through the river, interesting place. Is there anything to see at all or is it a complete ruin?
L., Latvian:
Somehow people from Rīga tend not to visit this place, most of them have never been there. They got used to Jūrmala and several other seaside places. They are usually not even conscious that Rīga has access to the sea. But I like this place as well, it is wonderful with all the qualities which accompany the capital city.
K., Polish:
Poor, not taken care of, on the outskirts, without good signage or lighting. I didn't feel too safe. These are not typically tourist-friendly areas.
S., Spanish:
A place scarred with a great amount of history. I wasn't really frightened, but you could feel negative energy in the air. As if a lot of bad things used to happen there in the past.
Below you can learn some facts about the district.
Frozen waves on the sea.
Daugavgrīva covers the total area of 1014,7 ha and has approximately 9000 inhabitants. The population density is 9 people/ha and the number of employed inhabitants is less than 2000. For easy comparison, the population density in Manhattan is close to 270 people per hectare. The difference is even more significant, when you take into consideration that people of Daugavgrīva commute to work to the center of Rīga, while people from other New York City districts usually commute to Manhattan.
The district borders with the Baltic Sea through the Bay of Riga, Daugava river, Lielupe river, Buļļupe river and two other districts: Ritabuļļi and Bolderāja.
The landscape of Daugavgrīva is mostly natural - the beach is divided from the city with a belt of dunes. Behind the dunes there is a lowland reed field - a former lagoon and now a swamp. Almost 40% of the district is covered by green areas, 3/4 of which is "Piejūra" - a national park. Moreover, there is a major area of allotment gardens for the city. Since the area is not very well known it makes for a lovely place for isolation and reflection. The beach is natural and never crowded, and if you go there any time other than in the Summer, I promise that you will be the only person there. If you can stand so much cold weather. Plus, the stone pier with the lighthouse, where the river enters the sea is in Latvia's top 3 date locations if you ask me.
Daugavgrīvas mols - the pier of Daugavgrīva on a warm July evening.
The last element of the landscape is antropogenic - residential areas from the 70s and 80s, mostly fairly low-rise, up to 4-5 stories, the so-called khrushchovkas - which in my opinion are an important part of the history of contemporary architecture not only in the Baltics, but in the whole Eastern and Central Europe, and are not to be neglected.
Production buildings and factories take up a major part of the neighborhood: port, shipyard, silicate brick factory, which historically used to utilize vast amounts of local dune sand for production purposes and thus influenced the change of the landscape. Nowadays the dunes are protected.
My young and happy self on the way to the seashore in January 2013.
The climate is moderate - the average July temperatures oscillate around 17 degrees Celsius and in January -3.5 degrees Celsius. What is fairly significant is the flora and fauna of the area: 29 rare and protected plant types, 166 bird species, as well as such animal species as muskrat, European beaver, brown hare, domestic marten, american mink, countless kinds of reptiles, amphibians and insects.
The district is currently inhabited by approx. 55% Russians, 38% Latvians and 7% others.
Daugavgrīva is a place where the sky and the sea is one.
I strongly encourage you to go sightseeing beyond the most popular tourist areas. It may reveal a whole new spectrum of traveling experiences to you... while you wait for my next post about Daugavgrīva.
Sources:
- http://www.apkaimes.lv/sakums/Daugavgrīva/fizgeo
- http://www.daba.gov.lv/upload/File/DAPi_a pstiprin/DL_Daugavgrīva-03.pdf
- https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daugavgr%C4%ABva
- own studies