Exploring RIGA, the capital of LATVIA in winter – Old Town during Christmas

Exploring RIGA, the capital of LATVIA in winter – Old Town during Christmas

Let me show you what is essentially a story book opening to the architecture of Ria I hope you’re ready for a treat because I’m going to take you on a fascinating walk here through the old town of Ria and we’ll see some brilliant architecture in due course but let me

First tell you a little bit more about the history of Ria and of Latvia in the Early Middle Ages Ria formed a key part of a Viking trade network but it was only really until the 12th and the 13th century that Ria and wider lvia were more fully integrated into the social

And political institutions of Europe the city of Ria was founded in 1201 by a German Catholic bishop his name was Albert and in 1282 Ria became part of the htic league yeah I’m just always amazed at the amount of snow in these cold countries in Europe

In the 12th and 13th centuries the ger sent through a lot of missionaries at first to christianize the population it didn’t necessarily go so well so ultimately they had to send in the Crusaders to take a little bit more of a shall we say aggressive approach with

The locals but the important thing here to note is that from the 13th century until roughly the mid-6th century lvia or large parts of present day Latvia were under German control yeah beautiful day for walking your dogs here in Ria from the mid 16th century until the early parts of the 18th century

There was a large struggle for Supremacy in the area polish Lithuanian Commonwealth Sweden as well as Russia all wanted to have a bit of influence in the area so actually at one stage Ria was the capital of Swedish Leonia and the largest city in the entire Swedish Empire but by

1795 all parts of what is today present latva that formed part of the Russian Empire as was the case in Lithuania so 1795 a key date be and the other thing to note is that even though lvia was part of the Russian Empire from 1795 the German land owners still

Maintained a lot of influence in the area so when lvia were looking to get independence obviously there was the Russians to deal with but also the to deal with but lvia ultimately gained independence on the 18th of November 1918 right so that was a little bit about the history and I mentioned the

The Germans as well as the struggle for Supremacy in the area where the Polish leanian Commonwealth and the sweds and the Russians they all wanted their slice of a pie but the important thing to note is that there was several rulers over Latvia’s Lifetime and it’s important to

Note as we will look at some of the architecture in theour or some of the monuments which also tells more of a story of this country let’s start our tour of the architecture of Ria and I am here in kungu IA is Street in Ria and this is like a story book opening

So imagine turning a page in a story book and you find this beautiful beautiful church here St Peter’s Church here in Ria one of the iconic architectural landmarks of a city a key part of a city landscape for sure and a very very old part of Ria these machines

They are not part of the old history of Ria they pretty new Innovations yes the iconic St Peter’s church and I’m not exactly sure when we started building this I know public records go back to 1209 that’s the first date I could find but it was also constructed across

Various different centuries and had to be reconstructed as well at different periods but just to give you some idea of a detail on the building here as well yeah information only in lvan but you can see where St Peter or S Peter the church and yeah just look at

These monuments here as well and the detail on some of the columns it is a really really impressive stru structure yeah St Peter’s Church a Lutheran Church here in Ria 1209 yeah I know they sell golden coffee in lvia but I don’t think these seating areas

Here are going to be used anytime soon look forward to something to eat later but for now let’s just continue our tour and yeah obviously lots of restaurants lots of pubs here in the old town and yeah some interesting monuments as well is that Cupid oh it’s lva what an

Interesting shop here so if you want to fall in love or immortalize Your Love come here it looks like some supermarkets here as well useful to know when you’re in an Old Town of any kind is to know where the supermarkets are cuz that will be a lot cheaper than the restaurants that’s

For sure and wow they even got a Costa Coffee here so something I recognize from the UK and Costa Coffee but with some lvan descriptions here so yeah how interesting let me tell you more about the population of Ria and of lvia so lvia has between 1.8 and 1.9 million

People and Ria has roughly 660,000 people and as I mentioned in one of my villus Vlogs there’s a little bit of disagreement between the Baltic Nations here about which is the biggest city vus or Ria people in vus say of course their capital is and the people in Ria say now

Of course R so if you’ve got any views let me know in the comments right we’ve arrived here at the house of the blackheads the house of a blackheads and in this case blackheads does not refer to those things on your skin that you want to press out but it refers to

The Brotherhood of a blackheads who used this building from a mid- 15th century onwards the Brotherhood of blackheads was a guild for unmarried merchants and ship owners but the original building as you can see there ano 3034 it was at one stage the biggest public building here in AR and I’ve also

Read that this is the site of a first ever decorated Christmas tree well maybe not exactly this one but 1510 was here in Ria in lva and there’s a Santa there taking pictures with locals and tourists and here in front of a house of a blackheads

You have an example of a Roland statue a Roland statue is a a knight with a drawn sword and these statues are very common in Northern and Eastern Germany and you also find one here in Ria in laa the Roland statue was installed in 1896 as a symbolic decoration of the artisian well

In the town hall Square It also says clean drinking water but I don’t think I’ll have any luck here today yeah oh well first we problems E I think it’s time to recreate a famous photo from 2008 here goes and while Santa is creating some balloon art for the tourists there let

Me tell you something about this building so something extraordinary and you’ll see there 1334 and 1999 so you see 13 34 is when the building was first built 1999 was when it was reconstructed so this building was almost completely destroyed in the second world war and what wasn’t destroyed in the

Second world war was ultimately destroyed by the Soviets and in 1999 there was a huge rebuilding program of this building so the locals could donate five lats which was a currency at the time and that would buy them a brick which they could come and place here

Under the program I built the blackheads house and that is why 1999 is reference there an absolutely incredible initiative and project from the locals who literally rebuilt this house of a blackhead incredible just showing you more of a building here and some of the images depicted here very very inter interesting piece

Of architecture House of the blackhe some B gift so let’s go check out this gift Shop hi hello clothes here oven gloves candles and some wooden houses with a copper chimney hi and something colorful as well here and of course some Christmas goodies some more snowy or christmy stuff here as well shot glass is 5 and 8.9 for a double there more Lan souvenirs there you go there there’s an outline of ltia and the location of R like I mentioned in one of my vus Vlogs all of Baltic countries so Lithuania lvia and Estonia are classified as high income countries by

The World Bank but they didn’t always have it so well so there was a period in the 18th century when the population drastically declined there was a war called the Great Northern war from 1700 to 1721 where about 40% of the lvan population perished due to plague and famine and in 1710 to

1711 here in Ria about 50% of the population died from plague so that was quite significant you would have seen on a bus Journey from vus to year just how much wood how much Forest where is in the baltics and at the beginning of the 20th

Century the port of riao was the biggest Timber export port in the entire Russian Empire and I just wonder how much W still contributes to the economy obviously now lva has a modern economy with very nice shops and of course something else that plays a major role in the economy of lvia

This little Stone here there you go Amber Queen baltic amber amber Museum Workshop over here is that a train made entirely from Amber wow and it’s priced at € 6,752 and the ship can’t see the price just yet but if you collect Amber ships or Amber

Trains maybe this is a place to come to you will pay a hefty price though yeah more parts of the Oldtown here different colors and I see some lvan Flags there those of you who followed me for a while now will know that I love a good flag

Story but I honestly don’t think it gets any better than the ladan flag Story the flag was adopted formerly in 1921 but it goes back approximately 700 years you will see there are two white bands of red car mine red or l red and I love

That they called it latan red and then there’s Thin White Band in the middle Legend has it that the leader of a local lvan tribe was killed in battle and his body was laid down on a sheet a white sheet and the sheet was wrapped around

His dead body so the part in which he laid remained white but his Blood Stained the rest of the flag during the next battle the lvan tribe use that sheet as their flag and they want won the battle and ever since it’s been the flag of Latvia two white bands of lvan

Red and a thin white band in the middle people getting pretty festive here with balloons and yeah if you live in latva let me know if the snow is a big issue for you I can imagine that this could be quite a nuisance but for people from a southern

Hemisphere like myself who don’t really know it this is a real real treat just lovely to walk around here and check this out guys modern Shops meet medieval Town Square and lovely restaurants over there some beautiful colorful buildings over there as well and Leela Guild I think it says there so

Maybe a former Guild building and a lot of Christmas decoration so a real Winter Wonderland here in Ria and the snow on the trees I have to say a lot more people here wear beanies or head gear van in Lithuania I wonder why that is maybe

They take better care of their body or maybe the lithuanians think they’re just a little bit tougher I don’t know I’m a bit of a softy I’m actually wearing two beanies today so I think that makes a difference so mid of a travel tip coming to this part of the world is make

Sure you are very warm here in Winter because you will absolutely encounter some very cold temperatures and yeah what a scene here these buildings I me you can see the spire of St Peter Church yeah just check out all the detail in this building wow almost looks like a castle amongst all the

Other buildings here and yeah there it says Leela Guild so looks like it’s a concert hall now but yeah what a what a magnificent building this is I don’t know if it’s part of this I think this might be a separate building but there you can see as well solidarity with Ukraine here

In lvia as well oh here’s the plaque let’s see here we go at the end of World War II and during the following years many members of the ladan national resistance movement were imprisoned humiliated tortured and murdered in this building wow so talking about resistance and the fight for

Independence so lvans love to sing they’re known as a singing country and I’ve been told there are more than 1 million folk songs I find that very hard to believe cuz there’s only like 1.8 million people so that’s one song for every 1.8 Lans which is incredible the

Singing Revolution took place in the baltics from 1987 to 1991 one now that involved many residents of the baltics resorting to song as a form of protest against the Soviet Union and on the 23rd of August 1989 something extraordinary happened approximately 2 million people all the way from vus going through Ria

Going up to talin 2 million people held hands and they formed one of the largest human chains ever seen and the reason that it was the 23rd of August 1989 is that it was 50 years to the day that the molotov ribon trop PCT was signed which basically partitioned Central and

Eastern Europe between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany undoubtedly the Baltic way was a key event in the struggle for Independence so the ladans love a good song and they also love a good Christmas Market with a song or two let’s check out some of the markets here see lots of

Glue Vine for sale and some hot snacks see what they got there for one something sweet and some of the food there hello sir hello there what is this sweet here uh those are mango fashion fruit um cheesecake with u i don’t know how to say that in English but uh with a

Nice cookie okay but it’s is it Lan or is it something it’s not Lan no if you would like to have see Lan yes uh there you can see this thing with the inside there are um cabbage yes yeah I’ll TR this one yeah please my friend thank you sorry can you

Just say your name in Lan again please uhx one more time please okay yes yeah okay I don’t know if you got it I probably didn’t but I’m going to give it a shot for 250 it looks yeah yes decent bargain here at R got Christmas marker guys there you go piece

Of bread and I think they said there’s a bit of cabage in here so yeah let’s give it a shot just broke it open there you can see the Cabbage almost looks like a sauerkraut anyway guys here it goes cold fermented cabbage in bread that’s not my cup of tea I’ll be

Honest but at least I can say I’ve tried it now so yeah and it’s also a bit of a sweet bread so it’s got a bit of a sweet sour taste yeah generally not a big fan of cabbage but yeah at least now I can I’ve tried it right so that was maybe

Not the best decision I’ve made today certainly not the uh best decision for my digestive system I think but let’s see if we can find find something else and stroll around and of course I need to tell you a bit more about the postcard of Ria Ria

Cathedral but let’s do that in due course yeah some proper European Christmas spirit here now we talking some soup and some VES and is that Pella as well on the Barby tried Pella before looking for something authentically Lithuanian some authentic Lithuanian food so maybe over here wow Che some potatoes and vegetables

There and over here some meat vegies sausage some brilliant hot food hello sir is video all right I can take some fat onions and meat okay let’s try it yes thank you very much these are peas yes yeah oh excellent thank you very much traditionally

Lan these this is uh meat with fat and onions meat with fat and onions excellent It’s really good that’s brilliant thank you thank you very much so there we go6 for a ftic labian meal there you go gray peas with bacon yes so they call Gray peas even though round

But then there’s also bacon with pieces of fat in there this P obviously particular color but they are relatively soft it’s a cold pee and then with a warm bacon and fat over there here it goes this is very nice it’s not warm it’s certainly the peas are cold and

Then this is almost lukewarm I’d say so not warm at all but lukewarm I like this definitely so I don’t know the history behind this dish but I can imagine this would have been a very filling and Arty meal for peasants back in the day so maybe it’s something that they

Ate on the farms this would have been a very hearty meal and a cheap meal to provide the beans and little pieces of bacon so lots of protein and lots of good stuff from the peas of course it’s 2023 and I’m eating it here in lbia they

Said they can actually warm it up for me here and look modern microwave for a medieval dish yes trly is managed to heat up I’ve lost my seat though on my table so I’ve got a new one here so let’s see if the PE is heated up if it makes a

Difference St it be warm of course I have to say I don’t mind it cold it’s quite nice heated up as well but even as a cold dish this I think is actually pretty good value for 6 but yeah 6 let me know what you think in the comments you think

That’s a good price obviously it’s a Christmas Market it’s got to be a bit more expensive but I actually quite enjoy this that was quite nice I quite enjoyed that but anyway time to show you something different right here next to the Christmas Mark the Ria Cathedral and arguably the postcard of

Ria if not of lva it was built in 1211 by Bishop Albert who founded Ria and it is a Lutheran Cathedral well Bishop Albert was Catholic but obviously Germany had a reformation and many parts of Germany accepted the Reformation became Lutheran so it’s a Lutheran Cathedral

Today yeah lots of people here on a Sunday afternoon in these Christmas markets and quite a privilege to experience L there as well over this period look at that beautiful Christmas tree as well and Ria Cathedral from another angle also the seat of the Archbishop of Ria so what do you think

Of RGA of Oldtown let me know in the comments and by the way guys if you haven’t done it yet please hit the like And subscribe buttons it really helps me out and allows me to make more free content such as this for you right and I’ve bumped into the Three

Brothers of Ria they are the oldest complex of dwelling houses here in the city and the Three Brothers are from very different eras as well you’ve got the oldest brother here number 17 a building that contains elements of Gothic architecture and it dates back to the 15th century

And look at the size of a Windows there they very small and I wonder if that’s to do with the fact that many governments used to tax buildings with bigger Windows back in the day this is the Middle Brother here number 19 the Dutch mannerism building you can see there

1646 and then you’ve got the youngest brother at the end there number 21 the narrow barck building the oldest brother number 17 elements of Gothic architecture you’ve got the Dutch mannerism of a middle brother and then the barck features of the youngest brother The Three Brothers of Ria and it

Is getting a little bit dark here in Ria but just opposite the Three Brothers here you have another beautiful church and let’s see if we can see more of it you can see dating back to 12:25 I’m not actually sure which building this is St Jacob’s Cathedral and some dark enjoying a winter

Walk yeah there’s another lvan flag perhaps showing you a bit clearer the difference in size between the car mine red and a white strip in the middle there so but what a wonderful full flag and it’s definitely quiet here I wonder where everyone is maybe very at the Christmas

Market but I think this is part of the castle of Ria which is now the presidential building yeah I think so Ria Castle only 30 m away so there you go the official residence of the president of lbia and it dates back to 1330 so obviously back in the

Days a key part of the defense of rer right just giving myself a bit of orientation so obviously we saw St Peter’s Church earlier we saw the house of a blackhead we saw the Dome of the Christmas Market and obviously here with fga Castle so I

Reckon let’s walk from the castle to the powder Tower and I will probably end the Vlog there I’ll show you more of Ria in upcoming Vlogs so still have a lot more to see including the freedom Monument maybe go to some of the streets in the other

Parts of the city with the art noo buildings you can see there art noo quarter but yeah let’s let’s go to the powdered Tower yes and just give you just giving you an idea how thick the snow is here so I would imagine if I didn’t clean it

Up here it would be uh quite a disaster but how magical together with the lights of that Christmas tree and the lights here against the castle the uh residence of the president and yeah obviously a little bit off the Beaten Track as well which has its pros I have to say so

Not too many people around and I almost feel like I’ve got the city to myself yeah w down Tela and I think this is pretty important Bank building maybe the national bank or the Central Bank my gosh look at the uh all the snow here in this

Street arala well I don’t think anyone will be driving in arala anytime soon and yeah definitely off a tourist Trail a bit but yeah I think it’s still part of the old town if not we are only just on the outskirt and a lot of traffic on that side

So obviously the city of riao will extend much further in that direction over there as well we are just here in the old town in Bist but lots of little Christmas trees also here in this part of the Old Town the G is that a reference to Vasco de

G I wonder what the link is with him in lvia if any wow look at that look at this little Arch here beautiful view through there as well really uh showcasing the medieval beauty of Ria and here we go lvan architecture award some entries here presumably but yeah here you can also

See another laan flag so modern architecture entries next to Medieval architecture I don’t know about you but I think I prefer the medieval architecture over modern architecture look how lonely and deserted this cannon looks here almost functionless well it will be functionless you can see 17 century Ria cannon carriage reconstructed

2002 yeah there you go help to protect the city of Ria and here it is the powdered Tower dates back to 130 and originally named the sand tower but I think this particular Tower was built in 1650 so possibly a reconstruction but it was used to store gunpowder in the 17th century

So gunpowder powder Tower and an interesting sculpture here in front of a tower not exactly sure what it this is all right guys I think this is where all end this Vlog as well if you haven’t done it yet please hit the like button and subscribe to the

Channel I hope you enjoyed this tour of Ria here the old town and in upcoming Vlogs we’ll explore more of this wonderful City but for now I just want to say again thank you for watching my videos and I’ll see you in the next one cheers take it easy

Hi everyone! This is episode five of my Baltics plus Finland series in which I travel to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. In this video, I explore Riga, the capital of Latvia. In particular, I focus on the Old Town, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Firstly, I talk about the history of Latvia and mention that present-day Latvia had several rulers over time. These include the Germans, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Swedish and the Russians. I also talk about Riga’s history and mention that Bishop Albert founded the city of Riga in 1201. The Germans ruled large parts of present-day Latvia from the 13th century to circa the mid-16th century, and their influence can certainly be seen in the architecture of the Old Town.

We then visit St. Peter’s Church, which was constructed and reconstructed over many centuries, but records show that it dates back to around 1209. I also notice the Latvian coffee shop right next to the church but which seats and tables outside are completely snowed under! I then walk further, noticing a supermarket as well as a Costa Coffee – something I did not quite expect!

I briefly give more information about the population of Latvia and Riga, and mention the dispute (or friendly banter?) between Vilnius and Riga regarding which city is bigger. If you have any clarity on this, let me know in the comments!

Following this, I visit the impressive House of the Blackheads dating from 1334, and notice a Christmas tree next to it – quite significant as I mention a historic fact in relation to the Riga Christmas Tree! I also talk about how the population of Riga (in collaboration with the City of Riga who provided additional funding) rebuilt the House of the Blackheads in 1999. I also visit the souvenir shop and check out the Latvian souvenirs for sale.

After this, I talk more about the economy of Latvia (including the historic contribution of wood and the continuous contribution of amber) as well as the flag, which has a fascinating story. I then stroll further in the alleys of the Old Town and ultimately stumble upon the Liela Gilde or Great Guild of Riga, which is a concert hall today. I talk about the Singing Revolution that occurred between 1987 and 1991 and how Latvia, as a nation that loves to sing, embraced song more in their struggle against the Soviet Union. I also give further information regarding the Baltic Way which occurred in the Baltics on 23 August 1989 – one of the longest human chains in history.

The Christmas Market is my next stop where I eat some local food, including a piece of bread with cabbage filling and some grey peas with bacon, onions and fat. After my culinary adventure, I visit the Cathedral of Riga, arguably the postcard of Riga and Latvia and just opposite the Christmas Market.

I then leave the Christmas Market area and visit the Three Brothers – the latter is the oldest complex of dwelling houses in the city. What is remarkable is that the three buildings are of vastly different eras. Opposite the Three Brothers there is another church I briefly visit, and I am not sure if it is St. Jacob’s Cathedral or St. James’ Cathedral – if you are a local, please help me out! (some sources give different information; I suspect it might be because English, unlike many other languages, often use different names for the New Testament name ‘James’ and the Old Testament name ‘Jacob’).

Following this, I visit Riga Castle, which existed since 1330 and formed a key part of the defense of the city in earlier times. Today, however, it is the residence of the President of Latvia. I decide to walk towards the Powder Tower, another key part of the defensive architecture of the city, which is also where this vlog ends.

I hope you enjoyed this video of me exploring the Old Town of Riga! If you haven’t done it yet, please hit the LIKE and SUBSCRIBE buttons, and leave a comment for me in the comments section. It is completely free to do so and it really helps me out – I am just a small-time creator without a production team or marketing budget. It is just me making videos, so your free contribution really makes a huge difference.

Thanks for watching and happy exploring!

Willie