Historica Wiki
Advertisement
Flag of Riga

Riga is the capital and primate city of Latvia. During the 2nd century, the Livonians founded a city at Duna Urbs along the Daugava, and it developed as a center of Viking trade during the early Middle Ages. In 1158, the Germans established a trading outpost at Riga, and many Latvians were baptized as Catholics or Orthodox Christianns. Modern Riga was founded in 1201, and the Sword Brethren were founded in Riga in 1202. In 1207, the town was fortified, and it became a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1221, Riga became an independent merchant republic (and a member of the Hanseatic League in 1282), and, in 1227, Riga acquired Polotsk. Riga accepted the Reformation in 1522, ending the power of the archbishops, and it was conquered by Poland-Lithuania in 1581 during the Livonian War. In 1621, Riga was conquered by Sweden, and it became one of Sweden's largest cities. It fell to the Russian Empire in 1710 during the Great Northern War, and, by 1900, Riga was the fifth-largest city in Russia. Riga had a sizable German population, reaching 42.9% in 1867. After World War I, Riga became the capital of Latvia, and the majority of its Baltic Germans were resettled in 1939. Riga returned to Russian control in 1940, and it remained part of the Soviet Union for decades. The Soviet KGB oversaw massive deportations, including thousands of Jews. Nazi Germany came to occupy Riga during Operation Barbarossa, massacring most of Latvia's Jews in November-December 1941. At the end of the war, the remaining Baltic Germans were expelled to Germany. Under the Soviet Union, thousands of Russians settled in Riga, and, by 1989, only 36.5% of Riga's inhabitants were Latvians. In 2019, Riga had a population of 632,614 people, with 1,070,000 people living in its metro area.

Gallery[]

Advertisement