WHY RIGA?

A plurality of ethnicities, a cosmopolitan Old Town, and the playfulness and elegance of an Art Nouveau mindscape.

The city of Riga, a Baltic Sea port at the mouth of the Daugava River, has always had the advantage of bringing in trade from two directions, so eventually everyone passed through. As a walled city, Riga thrived as a trading center that drew people from far and wide. This continued under the Germans, the Swedes and the Russians. When the Latvian people achieved independence in the early 20^th century and finally got their chance to build for no one but themselves, they created a playful, inspiring and uniquely Latvian residential quarter in the city center, in the Art Nouveau style. During this period more than 800 new buildings in Riga created the finest collection of Art Nouveau in Europe, on par with Brussels’ outstanding examples and Klimt’s artistic Vienna.

The earliest medieval buildings are from the 13^th century. Among them are the Dome Cathedral, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Convent Yard of the Holy Ghost. Many of Riga's museums are housed in 14^th- and 15^th- century buildings created when the Hanseatic trade with Germany was flourishing. These include the ornate Blackhead’s House, the elegant Mencendorff House and the enriching Museum of Naval History. As it became clear that there was no turning back from the developments of the Industrial Age an Open-Air Ethnographic museum was created with great love and attention to detail, just within the Riga city boarders, to preserve the local knowledge and atmosphere of pastoral Latvia from the 18^th century and before.

The Riga of today has a thriving artistic and entrepreneurial culture. From Laima Kaugare’s high fashion linens at the Naturals Studio to the Daugava and Putti Galleries where Latvian artist and designers showcase their imaginations, new ideas and experiences are integrated into the practical aspects of daily life here, old world culture exists side by side with luxury and energy efficient tech, and a home grown post-modernism can delight and surprise in areas as diverse as music, textiles, fashion, technology and architecture.

The beautiful Riga skyline can best be seen from the tower of the Academy of Sciences or the Reval Hotel’s Skybar outside the old town, or from across the river. Historically fascinating and architecturally unique, the city of Riga is effectively split in two by the Daugava River. On the west side you find the historical center including the international harbor and the historic walled city, Riga's one-of-a-kind nationally romantic Art Nouveau enclave, burgeoning museums and lively theaters, but the east side of the city grew with waves of expansion that took off in the 17^th century. Today there are a large number of wooden residences, market squares and green spaces dating back to the early development, but new additions include the Riga International Airport and a number of 21^st-century businesses in high-rise complexes. All this combines to make Riga a truly cosmopolitan hub.