Historic Centre of Riga, Latvia

Riga, formed in 1201 by the Bishop of Livonia, Albert Buxhövden, was a major center of the Hanseatic League that prospered through trade with Central and Eastern Europe in the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. The urban fabric of its medieval center reflects this prosperity, though most of its oldest buildings were destroyed by fire and war. Then successively conquered by the Poles, Swedes and Russians, the city suffered from the instability in the Baltics. In the nineteenth century Riga became an important economic center and was built on the outskirts of the medieval city, first by imposing wooden buildings in neoclassical style and then in Jugendstil. The general consensus is to Riga found the finest collection of new buildings in Europe Art, produced between 1895 and 1912 and signed for most Mikhail Eisenstein.

Riga is one of the best preserved in Central Europe consists of three parts historic centers, the medieval part, newer neighborhoods dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with ten implantation checkerboard and boulevards shaped semicircle . Wooden Architecture, Art Nouveau and Jugendstil coexist in perfect harmony.

Some buildings have been restored and decorated furniture and stuck to the original as houses and Reutem Dannenstem dating from the seventeenth century to the impressive size and facades of great beauty.

Even some walls surrounding the city were destroyed by the attacks and fires, much has been rebuilt with a stronghold. The city also has a large number of buildings dating from the nineteenth century as the National Theatre and the Latvian Art Museum. Do not miss a visit to the house cats in the street Meistaru. At the end of the nineteenth century, black cats have become the symbol of Riga due to different that pitted the great Guild owner of the house in question. In revenge, he turned depictions of cats on the roof of his home, pointing behind the great Guild.

The large Guild was built in 1334, there was organizing festivals and carnivals. Today period instruments as well as silverware and furniture are on display.

Source : here .