Hi my Hive Friends,

Today I get back to you with a post about Riga. Maybe you can remember that I made a post about the Gauja National Park in Latvia two weeks ago? I visited a friend in Latvia, Riga at that time. Now I would like to tell you about a few sights that I visited there. Fortunately, I was there in winter, so I was able to admire Riga in the snow. This is not unusual for Riga, but I was very pleased, because there was simply no snow in Germany (at least not in Cologne;)).

Every house is a work of art

In Riga, one of our first walks was through the open-air leisure park EGLE. The historical center, where the park is located, is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The amusement park is located in the middle of the Old Town of Riga right next to the Riga City Hall. Especially during Christmas time it was nice to come here because everything was decorated. From our walk we continued passing houses, one more beautiful than the other. Here really every house is a work of art. The architecture in Riga, was what amazed me the most. I don't know about euc, but I came to riga with no expectations. I didn't even know what Latvia was about until here. Sure, cold WWetter, most of the time anyway. But that's all that really popped into my head. Now, after getting to know Riga and with it a part of Latvia, I know for sure: The architecture is really incredible. There was a house on every corner that I had to photograph. Really, I don't photograph houses at all. The contrast to Cologne was really big (sure, there are nice corners in Cologne, too).

The influences of the German crusaders on the appearance of the present-day city of Riga

Because I was so fascinated by the architecture during my stay in Riga, I started to do a little research on the Internet. My friend had already told me what architectural epoch, or rather style, we were talking about: Art Nouveau.
But I wanted to know more. On the Internet I came across some information: Cathedrals, which exist here, were built mainly by German crusaders. They were in Romanesque and Gothic style. In addition, the Crusaders also built castles. All this still characterizes the city today.

If you ask me, the city of Riga itself can be considered one giant museum. Everywhere new buildings with old architecture but very nicely maintained. I have never seen anything like it in any other city.
But not only the Art Nouveau style is present in the center of Riga. There are a lot of different architectural styles here - besides the Jugenstil (which is one of the most common) there is Gothic, Romantic and even traditional Latvian wooden architecture. Especially in the Northern European region, these directions are more common.

Riga, rich in art nouveau buildings

What I noticed very strongly: I think it is also due to the fact that we were not in all districts of Riga on the road, but here, unlike in Germany, there is apparently not so much poverty. I read up on this and found that although poverty is a big problem in Latvia, it is relatively low in Riga. In fact, when I walked through Riga, I thought that rich people must live here. On the roadside only villas and large apartment buildings. Everything is clean, everything is in the Jugend style and it looks like it has just been renovated.
The many buildings in the Jugendstil were built at a time when the city center was to be renewed from the ground up. This happened around the middle of the 19th century. The medieval fortifications of the historical center were displaced. The New Town was created.
Thus, there is a new town and an old town. And both districts together form the center of Riga. I don't know any place where there are more Jugenstil buildings on one spot, and then so well preserved. I am already planning to visit the next cities with many Jugenstil buildings. What do you say, do you like the buildings? Cities that are also rich in such buildings include Vienna, Saint Petersburg, Antwerp, Prague and Barcelona.

I photographed the buildings that you can see in the pictures above when we were walking through a diplomatic street. That's what my friend called the street. Unfortunately I can't remember exactly which one it was.
What is really very striking: the facades have so much detail. This is also a characteristic of Art Nouveau. Most often I discovered ornaments, flowers or sculptures on the walls of the houses. The colors are mostly kept in a pastel tone, in a light pastel tone.

The most beautiful and largest buildings can be found near Alberta iela, just north of the old town.

The Sweden Gate

One sight that i don't want to withhold from you is the swedish gate. The Schwedentor was built in 1698. It is called the Schwedentor because it was built under Swedish rule. It was built to celebrate the Swedish occupation of Riga.
In front of the gate there was still a city wall at this point. The gate should help the occupiers to get from their barracks to the city center faster. So they just tore down part of the city wall and built their gate on that spot.

Do you believe in legends?

A legend also surrounds the gate. And you know how I love legends and myths, even if most of the time I don't believe them. But I enjoy it, so I'll tell you: During the occupation, the soldiers were not allowed to have any contact with Riga women and girls, it was a strict rule. According to a legend, a Swedish soldier and a girl from Riga did not follow the rule. They often met at night, fell in love until one night they were caught. As punishment, it is said, they were walled up alive in the Schwedentor. their ghosts are said to still be haunting there today. They say that if you want to know if your partner is the love of your life, all you have to do is walk through the gate with your partner and when you hear the couple's voice, it's true love. How many couples do you think have already separated after going through the gate?! This joke had to be, sorry..;)