Travel Photos Home Page
Riga 2017
To return to the Paintings section of this website, please CLICK HERE
To return to the Eastern Europe 2017 page, please CLICK HERE
I was ready to explore the Old Town of Riga but I quickly discovered another interesting architectural aspect of the Latvian Capital: Art Nouveau.

Riga is the Barcelona of the North, minus Gaudi.

This corner building is on Alberta Iela (Alberta Street). Alberta may just be a short road, but it boasts a number of lovely examples of Art Nouveau buildings.
Art Nouveau was an international style of art, arcitecture and design which was popular between 1890 and 1910. It was inspired by nature and was a reaction to the academic style which had begun to ossify at that time.

In the Germanic countries it often went by the name of Jugendstil.
Game of Thrones, anyone?
Entering the Old Town of Riga, we come to the Riga Dome Cathedral.

Unfortuantely, photos are not allowed to be taken inside this, and many other churches in Riga.
This is the iconic building of The Brotherhood of Blackheads in the Old Town.
According to Wikipedia: "The brotherhood (of Blackheads) traces its origin to a group of foreign merchants who, according to the legend, had participated in the defense of Reval (present-day Tallinn in Estonia) during the St. George's Night Uprising between 1343 and 1345 when the indigenous population of Estonia unsuccessfully tried to exterminate all foreigners and eradicate Christianity from Estonia."

Did I mention elsewhere that the Baltic region has had a turbulent history?
Riga's Old Town is a great place to wander around and get lost. But thanks to Dr Google and his offline maps, one can always find the way out of the maze.
Cobbled-stone streets look great, but they are not the ideal surfaces upon which to drag your wheeled bags.
St Peter's Church in the Old Town is Lutheran. It was constructed in parts over several centuries, beginning in the early 1200s.
These buildings are on the Northern side of Dome Square, which is in the very heart of the Old Town. The Riga Cathedral is on the Southern side of this Square.
Riga is blessed with lovely parks and rivers. They separate the Old Town from the Art Nouveau districts.
This is the Freedom Monument which was built in 1935 as a memorial to the soldiers killed during the Latvian War of Independence, 1918 - 1920.
These gorgeous flowers appear throughout this region, often is great clusters, and are equally popular in Poland, the Baltic States and Russia.
This is the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Riga which is located in that central section of parks and rivers. Again, photos not allowed inside, alas.
The Daugava River flows through old and new Riga. The modernist building on the opposite bank is the National Library of Latvia.
I caught a bus and went across this suspension bridge to the Western suburbs of Riga.
A warm and pleasing example of Latvian wooden buildings in the Western suburbs.
It's enough to make you climb up the wall!
A view of the Daugava River, taken from the suspension bridge, and looking North. It reminds us that Riga is a major port city.
We end our visit to Riga with this amusing sculpture in one of the many parks of Riga.
To return to the Eastern Europe 2017 page, please CLICK HERE