Largest city of the Baltic States and home to more than one third of the Latvian people: Riga. Riga is the capital of Latvia and covers a territory of 307.17 km². Almost 700.000 people live in this city that was founded in 1201. The historical center of Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So definitely worth a visit. It is situated at the mouth of the Daugava. Riga has always been located at a juncture of trading routes, and that’s why it is a multicultural city. In Riga there have been living for a longtime: the Latvians, Germans, Russians, Poles, Swedes, Finns and others.
It is known
for its art Nouveau and Jugendstil architecture, and the 19th
century wooden architecture. In 2014 Riga is the European capital of culture,
along with the Sweden city Umea. During this year the city will organize hundreds
of special events. And it will show its culture every day of the year to the world.
People will be able to get to know famous people who have been of great
influence to Riga. They will also be able to evaluate modern Latvian music,
fine arts, cinema, museums, and much more.
Riga is
divided in 6 different administrative divisions: Central, Kurzeme, Northern,
Latgale, Vidzeme and Zemgale Suburbs. Three of them were established in 1st
September 1941. The other three were founded later, in October 1969. In these
districts Riga consists of 58 neighborhoods. So this is definitely a very large
and diverse city.
When we
look at the economy of Riga we see that half of the amount of jobs in Latvia
are in Riga. They have the biggest exports in Latvia, especially in woods, IT,
food and beverage manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, transport and metallurgy. The
Riga Port is also one of the largest in the Baltic States and could handle 34
million tons of cargo in 2011, with which they broke a record.
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The events are very special in Riga. It's nice that people get the chance to see the celebrities. It is a country with a rich economy. It was nice to travel through Riga.
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