Latvia

RIGA

 

 Latvia`s capital,Riga,was founded in 1201,and over the following 800 years was occupied by Germans,Poles,Swedes and Russians.Latvia finally became an independent country in 1991 after long years of Soviet domination,since when Riga has become the Baltic`s most cosmopolitan city.Its cultural claim to fame is that it has more Art Nouveau buildings than any other city in the world.

 Riga is full of architectural gems,both ancient and relatively modern.Possibly the best examples of medieval residential buildings are the Three Brothers,a picturesque row of houses,the oldest of which was built in the fifteenth century.The Doma Cathedral dominates the old town.It was founded in 1211 and has been partally destroyed and then restored several times since then.The old town is full of streets and squares of sixteenth-and seventeenth-century German buildings,decorated with carvings and statues,and it is a joy to wander here.The House of Blackheads,Melngalvju nams (a guild of unmarried,foreign merchants),is a fabulous reconstructed Gothic building,new used for state meetings.

 The Art Nouveau buildings stand just outside the old city.Whole streets here are lined with flamboyant architectural beauties.The gorgeous group of buildings on Alberta Street was designed by mikhail Eisenstein,and the blue-and-white facade of the School of economics is another highlight.

 Apart from its historic centre,which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,Riga is home to numerous academic institutions and is of major commercial and industrial importance in the Baltic region.Since the advent of cheap European airfares it has become a popular holiday destination,offering something for Everyone.