Tourist Information for Riga

5, J. Alunana Street
Riga LV-1010
TEL: (371) 777 4700 Switchboard
TEL: (371) 733 8126

The Baltic States are the most beautiful and exciting travel destinations in Europe, made up of 3 countries: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Latvia is part of the Baltic States and is snuggly positioned between Lithuania and Estonia. The population of Latvia is 2.5 million and has a territory of about 25,000 square miles, which makes it the largest member of the Baltic States. After regaining its independence in 1991, Latvia has continued to grow its political and economic status and without losing sight of its cultural & historical roots. Today, it is fast becoming one of the most visited city breaks destinations in Europe. Many holiday makers come here as part of Classical Baltic breaks tours and many jet setters come to the capital ‘Riga’ for luxury break holidays, short city escapes and adventure holidays. It is a wonderful country, full of wildlife, parks, breath taking landscapes, museums and many medieval towns. Latvia holidays are simply stunning, like nowhere else in the world. Not only are the natural sights beautiful, but so are the Latvian people, who have a positive zest for life and inner joy. This country has so much to offer and experience that it presents endless possibilities for city break tours and Baltic holidays.

Excerpts from the address by the President of Latvia, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, at the opening ceremony of the publication "History of Latvia: the 20th century", 27 January 2005:
‘History of one's people, one's country, and one's nation is an inseparable part of national identity, of national self-awareness. It is necessary as a foundation for building our present and future. Understanding history as objectively as possible is also necessary for developing a common sense of belonging within society, for ironing out previous conflicts or contradictions, for understanding painful wrongdoings, and in time, if not for forgiveness, then for the process of reconciliation. These are all psychological processes that are based on an objective view of what happened.’

During the Iron Age, the lower parts of the Daugava River were densely populated by Baltic tribes, which took advantage of the superior geographical positioning of the area. These early settlements were based around a convenient natural port on the Riga River bank, which helped promote the economic activity in the area. These Baltic Tribes controlled the trading crossroads of the famous route from the Vikings to the Greeks. This route gave direct access that stretched from Scandinavia, through Latvia into the Russian Empire. During these times Latvia’s coast was known as a place for obtaining amber, which in the middle ages was more precious than gold. This is the historical reason why Latvia has been invaded by larger nations, so many times and why Latvian culture has been defined in such a unique way. Near the end of the 12th century, Latvia was frequented by western traders, who were taking the long journey along the Daugava River to Russia. German traders arrived and established the first major settlement, bringing their preachers to covert the pagan Baltic tribes to Christian faith. As the local tribes resisted these different beliefs, German crusaders were sent by the Pope in Rome to change their belief systems. By the early 1200s, Riga had already become one of the biggest cities in the Baltics, it had a monastery and they had eradicated the tribal forefathers of Latvia. After the fall of the Livonian Order in 1561, Latvia was briefly independent, then changed hands to the Polish in the 16th century and then again to the Swedes in 1621. Under Swedish control, Riga became the largest and most developed Swedish City and supplied the larger part of the Swedish kingdom with wheat. However, in the 1700s the Great Northern War began and Latvia fell into control of the Russian Tsar, Peter the Great. Now Russia had a direct passage into Europe and had control of the rich city of Riga. It was during this Russian influenced period, that Riga blossomed from a Fortress into a great city, flourishing with industrial activity. The newly built Russian railway network connected Riga to the Russian markets and helped to accelerate trade and economic growth. It wasn’t until 1918, shortly after WWI that Latvia proclaimed its independence. As the Latvian’s had fought bravely alongside Soviet troops, Russia was first to recognise there independence and promised to leave Latvia forever. However this promise was shortly broken, as Soviet troops occupied Latvia once again in June 1940 and violently sent thousands of Latvians to Siberia. WWII saw Latvia suffer even more, as German troops murdered 90% of the Jewish population in Nazi concentration camps. The post war period was a terrible time, of Russian repression and mass genocide against the Latvians. 120,000 Latvians were sent to Siberia or imprisoned and a further 130,000 Latvian’s fled to the west to escape the repressive violent Soviet action. In 1987, the Latvian people made their first open protests for independence and eventually won it back in 1989. The most memorable demonstration was also made in that year, when the people of Latvia, alongside the Lithuanian and Estonian people made a human chain, stretching from Tallinn (capital of Estonia) to Vilnius (capital of Lithuania). It symbolically represented the united wish of the Baltic States for independence. Soon after reinstating their independence, Latvia became a member of the United Nations. At the end of 1999 in Helsinki, the heads of the European Union countries and governments invited Latvia to begin negotiations regarding accession to the European Union. In April 2nd 2004, Latvia became a member of NATO and on May 1st, Latvia together with other two Baltic States (Estonia and Lithuania) became a full-fledged member of European Union. Today, Riga has developed into a tourist magnet, as one of the best city break destinations in the world. It is the business centre of the Baltic States, the cultural Mecca of Latvia and is marked in UNESCO’s list of architectural heritage. The only real way to discover Latvia’s fascinating history, culture and general way of life is to book a citybreak holiday to Riga and beyond. Contact the Baltic Travel experts or browse on-line through our Riga city breaks deals and luxury short break packages. Enjoy our passionate and professional city breaks services. Travel with the Riga breaks experts, a company that dedicates itself to its valued clients.