Riga
Riga is the capital city of the European country of Latvia. Riga is on river Daugava near the Baltic Sea. The historical center of Riga is in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List and is notable for its Art Nouveau architecture, which, according to UNESCO, has no equal in the world. [7]
|
Rīga | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Coordinates: 56°56′56″N 24°6′23″E / 56.94889°N 24.10639°ECoordinates: 56°56′56″N 24°6′23″E / 56.94889°N 24.10639°E | |
| Country |  Latvia |
| Government | |
| • Type | City council |
| • Mayor | Mārtiņš Staķis |
| Area (2002)[2] | |
| • City | 324 km2 (125 sq mi) |
| • Land | 275.5 km2 (106.4 sq mi) |
| • Water | 48.50 km2 (18.73 sq mi) 15.8% |
| • Metro | 10,133 km2 (3,912 sq mi) |
| Population (2017)[3] | |
| • City | 641,423 |
| • Density | 1,979.7/km2 (5,127/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 1,070,201 |
| • Metro density | 101.4/km2 (263/sq mi) |
| • Demonym | Rīdzinieki |
| Ethnicity (2016)[5] | |
| • Latvians | 46.2% |
| • Russians | 37.7% |
| • Belarusians | 3.9% |
| • Ukrainians | 3.5% |
| • Poles | 1.8% |
| • Lithuanians | 0.8% |
| • Romanies | 0.1% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| GDP(nominal) | 2012 |
| - Total | €12($15) billion[6] |
| - Per capita | €18,000($21,000) |
| Website | www.riga.lv |
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 The old town of Riga | |
| Criteria | Cultural: i, ii |
| Reference | 852 |
| Inscription | 1997 (21st Session) |
| Area | 438.3 ha |
| Buffer zone | 1,574.2 ha |
The mayor of Riga was Mārtiņš Staķis. He resigned in July 2023. [8]
History
Riga was founded in 1201. It was a castle of the Teutonic Order.
In 1710 during the Great Northern War the city was incorporated to Russia. Then it became a center of Courland province.
Since 1918 Riga has been the capital city of Latvia, including Soviet Latvia in 1940-1991.
On June 30, 1941 German troops captured Riga. The city was liberated on October 15, 1944.
People
The Riga inhabitants are named “Rīdzinieki” on Latvian and “рижане”(rizhani) on Russian.
Most of the people by ethnic origin are Latvian (45%) and 40% are Russian. Historically the city had large German population. Among other ethnic groups there are Byelorussians, Poles and Jews.
In the 16th century, Riga was one of the largest cities on the Baltic Sea coast, with a population of about 16,000. The population fell to about 6000 in 1720, but grew rapidly later, reaching 517,000 in 1913. The world wars reduced the population. It reached its peak in 1990 — 909,135 people.
Economy
During the Soviet period the Riga wagon building factory made a very big number of local trains.
The Latvian National Theatre is in Riga.
Transportation
The are 8 tram and 18 trolley routes run by Rīgas Satiksme.
Notable people
- Vera Mukhina, sculptor.
- Sergey Eisenstein, movie director.
- Mikhail Zadornov, writer.
- Oleg Znarok, ice hockey player and coach.
Riga Media
The building of the Brotherhood of Blackheads is one of the most iconic buildings of Old Riga (Vecrīga).
Panorama of Riga, 1572, Paper, copperplate. 16,3x40,7 cm
Riga in 1650. Drawing by Johann Christoph Brotze.
German troops entering Riga during World War I
Baltische Post was a German language newspaper in Riga during the early 20th century.
Damaged House of the Blackheads and St. Peter's Church during World War II
Soldiers of the liberational Red Army in front of the Freedom Monument in Riga in 1944
Flower laying ceremony at the Freedom Monument in 2012
City Hall in Riga, Latvia.
Riga population pyramid in 2022
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References
- ↑ "Riga City Council". Riga City Council. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
- ↑ "Riga in Figures". Riga City Council. Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
- ↑ "Table RESIDENT POPULATION BY STATISTICAL REGION, CITY AND COUNTY Riga city". csb.gov.lv. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ↑ https://www.geo.lu.lv/fileadmin/user_upload/lu_portal/projekti/gzzf/Konferences/EGEA/Krisjane_Zira_Rigas_aglomeracija.pdf#page=10
- ↑ "Table ISG191. RESIDENT POPULATION BY ETHNICITY AND BY STATISTICAL REGION AND CITY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR 2015". csb.gov.lv. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
- ↑ "2.1. Gross Domestic Product – Stratēģijas Uzraudzības Sistēma". sus.lv. Archived from the original on 2018-01-28. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
- ↑ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Historic Centre of Riga". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
- ↑ "Staķis paziņo par atkāpšanos no Rīgas mēra amata". www.lsm.lv (in latviešu). Retrieved 2023-08-22.
Other websites
- Riga Photos Archived 2009-05-06 at the Wayback Machine
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