Riga Old Town

Riga, Latvia

Riga Old Town (Vecrīga) is the historical center of Riga, Latvia, located on the east side of Daugava River. Vecrīga is famous for its old churches and cathedrals, such as Riga Cathedral and St. Peter's church.

Vecrīga is the original area of Riga and consists of the historic city limits before the city was greatly expanded over the years. In the old days, Vecrīga was protected by a surrounding wall except the side adjacent to the Daugava river bank. When the wall was torn down, the waters from Daugava filled the space creating Riga City Canal.

In the 1980s Vecrīga's streets were closed to traffic and only area residents and local delivery vehicles are allowed within Vecrīga's limits with special permits. Vecrīga is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site listed as "Historic Centre of Riga".

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Kungu iela, Riga, Latvia

See all sites in Riga

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Historic city squares, old towns and villages in Latvia
Historical period: German Crusades (Latvia)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

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User Reviews

Monika Kazlauskaitė (13 months ago)
We have been looking for pet friendly hotel and we glad that we found this place! Staff was friendly, room was very tidy and causy. They didin’t charge extra for dog staying. Breakfast was also very nice - good variety of food. Very good location. We used underground parking which was very close to hotel.

Ant Rich (13 months ago)
Super boutique hotel with all 5 stars facilities and top customer service. I love that place and highly recommend it to anyone. You will never be disappointed.

Trystan Dafydd (13 months ago)
Nice hotel. Wi-Fi was not amazing and we had issues with the television in the room. Good breakfast spread with loads of options. Decent gym.

Dominyka Andzejevska (13 months ago)
In 2020 June 1 was promised a full refund in 90 days for the canceled trip because of Covid. It's 2022 and still no refund... All the emails are ignored. So be careful planning your trip to this hotel.

zigurds skrastins (2 years ago)
Great hospitality and amazing breakfasts. Nice pool area with view of the city. Perfect location in old town.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Geraldine Curtis

Historic Site of the week

Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls

The Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls was part of the federal sanctuary of the three Gauls dedicated to the cult of Rome and Augustus celebrated by the 60 Gallic tribes when they gathered at Lugdunum (Lyon). The amphitheatre was built at the foot of the La Croix-Rousse hill at what was then the confluence of the Rhône and Saône.

Excavations have revealed a basement of three elliptical walls linked by cross-walls and a channel surrounding the oval central arena. The arena was slightly sloped, with the building"s south part supported by a now-vanished vault. The arena"s dimensions are 67,6m by 42m. This phase of the amphitheatre housed games which accompanied the imperial cult, with its low capacity (1,800 seats) being enough for delegations from the 60 Gallic tribes.

The amphitheatre was expanded at the start of the 2nd century. Two galleries were added around the old amphitheatre, raising its width from 25 metres to 105 metres and its capacity to about 20,000 seats. In so doing it made it a building open to the whole population of Lugdunum and its environs.