Where is Riga?

By
Church steeples are numerous along the Daugava River
I've had a couple people ask me where in the world are you now? So I thought I'd get down to basics this week and show you a bit about the city of Riga.


Riga is the capital of the country of Latvia - one of the three Baltic countries. It's in between the other two Baltic States of Estonia and Lithuania, all of which border Russia.

To the west of Latvia is the Baltic Sea which is located between the Baltic States, Sweden and Finland. The Daugava River (which is a block from our flat) empties into the Gulf of Riga and out into the Baltic Sea. As a result, Riga's port is very important to the economy of the country of Latvia.


The history of Riga goes back to the early Middle Ages. The Vikings traded with the people who lived along the Daugava River, establishing the first village on the site of Riga today.

St. Peter's Lutheran Church.

When we first visited Riga, we were amazed by the number of large, old churches that we saw. Notice all of the steeples in the top picture. Riga was one of the first cities to adopt the new Lutheran faith in 1522 shortly after Martin Luther left the Catholic Church. Two of the three tallest steeples in the picture above are Lutheran churches. Lutheranism is very strong in the entire country of Latvia.
Section of ancient wall



We live in the old section of Riga. It's the part that was included in the original walled city back in the 16th Century. Because of that, we walk on cobblestones, dating back who knows how far. Paved entirely in cobblestones, it's fun to explore the nooks and crannies of this old part of town.


Iconic building in Old Riga
 Today Old Riga is a very popular tourist spot for anyone interested in history. It's a great place to visit to see historical buildings. But Riga is much larger than the old city center.





Riga Public Library

Bridge over the river near our house


A modern city has grown up around Old Riga. We haven't explored much of that part of the city yet. We did find the IKEA store, however.

We'll have a chance to explore more of the city when it warms up here. We have lots of time for that later.



Comments

  1. dbookgirlFebruary 19, 2020 at 5:52 AM

    Be sure to explore the mittens of Latvia. Each region is known for their own colors and designs. The history of how the mittens were used in folk traditions is fascinating. Enjoy your time in Riga. - Deby

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. connie cortright.comFebruary 20, 2020 at 11:48 PM

      I'll need a guest writer for that post since I don't know anything about Latvian mitten culture!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Home Sweet Home" - Not American Version

By
Image
Older apartment buildings We've lived in St. Petersburg for close to two months and have yet to see "the American dream" - a single family house. Here, everyone lives in an apartment, located either in an old building in the historic city center or in a new high-rise farther out. The high-rise buildings are everywhere you look--in the center of everything, or at the edge of one of the many rivers. We keep hearing about the communist era cement buildings, but we haven't seen many that look too old and dilapidated. They are probably replaced by the new high-rises built since freedom came in the 1990s. We live in one of these new high-rise complexes. Our third-floor apartment is in a 21 story building in a complex of five other buildings (called korpus in Russia). We live in Korpus 3. This complex includes several modern, colorful play areas for the children. It also includes an underground parking garage for the many cars that people own. In fact, the pl
Read more

The Golden Domes of Riga

By
Image
Orthodox Cathedral - Riga  The golden domes of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral stand out above the trees near Old Town Riga. We walk past this large building in the park not far from our apartment.  The domes shine out to the citizens on sunny days. Surrounded by the trees in the park, the walls of the cathedral are not easy to see in summer, but the size is undeniable. Of course, the golden domes tell everyone that this is a Russian Orthodox Church. After living in St. Petersburg, that is easy for us to define with the Russian style architecture. This cathedral was built between 1876 and 1883 when Latvia was a part of the Russian Empire under the reign of Tsar Alexander II.  Main Door This is the largest Orthodox Church in the entire Baltic area. A massive tower rises toward the sky when a visitor approaches the front door.  Entryway painting I visited several orthodox churches during my years in Europe. The thing that they have in common is that the interiors are covered with images
Read more

Why Roosters?

By
Image
Rooster on top of Dom Cathedral  Last week I wrote about cats being on the roof of a building, but today I'm going to share the reason that we have roosters sitting on the tip of churches in Riga. When we first moved to Riga, we noticed that some churches have the usual crosses on the top of them, but others have roosters sitting on top of the steeple. I couldn't recall ever seeing a rooster on top of a steeple. On doing more research, I was wrong to think that other countries don't have these on steeples. I found out that's it's common in European countries to see roosters on top of Lutheran churches. Our Lady of Sorrows Church The more common cross on the top of a steeple is found on Catholic churches in Europe. We have a couple of them in Old Town Riga as well. And, some Catholic churches in Europe have roosters sitting on top of crosses. So, the question popping into my head is why a rooster? After looking at several sources, it seems like ther
Read more