Touring Riga’s Enchanting Old Town Under Cloudy Skies

On Friday we traveled from Oslo, Norway to Riga, Latvia. We took the train from Oslo out to the airport and arrived in plenty of time for our flight. Our biggest challenge was in Helsinki, Finland where we had only a 50 minute layover. It turns out our departure gate was on the opposite side of the airport from our arrival gate. We really booked it across the airport and made it in time. That flight was on a small prop jet which was quite noisy.

From the Riga Airport we planned to take a bus into town. Although we found the bus stop OK, we couldn’t figure out how to buy a ticket. We got on the bus thinking we could pay onboard, but that didn’t work either. A crowded bus and rain made our entrance into Riga less than ideal.

We arrived at our bus stop in town. To get to our hotel it seemed we needed to take a tunnel under the road. It was a challenge with our luggage, but we eventually made it. That night we walked to a nearby kebab shop for dinner which was a stretch for us food wise.

After a good night’s sleep, we woke up to cloudy skies with another chance of rain. After breakfast our first task was to find an umbrella at a nearby mall. With that task completed, we set off to see the sights. Silvette had seen a building towering above the other buildings and wanted to see what it was. We headed in that direction but found ourselves sidetracked by the local public market.

The market turned out to be huge. At the beginning we saw some shops set up selling mostly clothes. Then we came to an area selling vegetables. This was all outside.Then we saw a door and realized there were market stalls inside. A series of buildings were connected to each other with a hallway. Each building seemed to have its own type of merchandise. The two that stuck out to me the most were one with small food stalls and bakery items and one with meats and fish. The fish always fascinate me even though I don’t eat very much of it. We have encountered similar markets in Budapest, Porto, and even in our own hometown of Seattle. Each one has its own unique feeling and offerings.

We went back outside and discovered that the back of the building has an area selling more fruits and vegetables. There were so many stalls. One could definitely try to find the best price or the best produce with all the options available. The final area we came to was selling flowers, both cut and potted. Some booths also sold memorial floral arrangements.

We finally continued our journey to see what the tall building was. We found it, but we were not immediately clear as to what it was. Eventually we concluded it was the Latvian Academy of Sciences. However, the main attraction was an observation deck up high that gives a nice view of Riga. We might have paid to go up, but it was quite cloudy so we felt we really wouldn’t see much.

On the opposite corner was an Orthodox Church. We could determine that by the typical Orthodox domed steeples. We were able to go inside. I was very happy as loyal readers may recall that I tried to visit some Orthodox Churches in Wroclaw, Poland without much success. The church interior was much more ornate than I had expected. There was a lot of gold. The main sanctuary had no pews in it which was not a surprise. While I was there, I could hear a group of people in an upstairs room chanting. It was a unique experience.

We walked down a little ways heading for the river. We passed an area of ruins. It turned out to be a sad situation. The ruins were from a Jewish synagogue which the Nazis had burned down completely killing Jews who were inside. We don’t hear much about the Latvian Jews, but historians estimate the Nazis killed 70,000 Jews in Latvia with only a small number escaping.

We continued on our way trying to get down to the Daugava River. Eventually we walked along a road parallel to it and soon discovered we were back at the public market. We hadn’t realized we were so close to the river there. We decided to find a snack back in the bakery part of the market so we could take a break from walking.

After our break we headed to what is known as the Old Town of Riga. One church tower stands above all others so we made for that church first. It was the church of St. Peter. I went in to check it out. The church seemed to be undergoing some renovations. Against one wall were various architectural items that workers had removed from places in the building. Towards the back, behind the altar area, they had an interesting historical account of the changes brought to the area during the Protestant Reformation. I didn’t read all of it, but it was interesting to see how Latvia came under the Lutheran umbrella.

As I was leaving, I verified with one of the young guides that the church was a Lutheran church. She told me it was. She then explained how one knows in Latvia. It seems all the Lutheran churches here do not have a cross on top of the church. Instead they have a rooster. A cross indicates a Catholic church. The rooster symbolizes forgiveness relating to the story of Peter denying Christ. However, the rooster has also become a symbol of resilience for the Latvian people beyond just its religious symbolism.

We continued to walk around the Old Town area. The architecture here is quite unique in places. Riga is recognized as being an area with strong Art Nouveau influences. We saw some of that, but I still needed to determine where it was more prominently used.

One of the more interesting architectural buildings in Riga is a very ornate building which an organization known as the Brotherhood of the Blackheads owned. This was an organization of unmarried merchants, ship owners and others. They were first a military organization which started in Tallinn, Estonia, but later became more of a social organization. Major city events were held in their building. Unfortunately the building was destroyed in World War II, but it has since been carefully restored. One can take a tour of the interior, but we did not.

Nearby was an interesting statue depicting three men known as the Latvian Riflemen who were part of a division that had defended the city of Riga. However, the group later gave their loyalty to the Russians. The monument was set up during the Soviet occupation so not all Latvians are happy with the monument.

From there we just wandered a while through the town eventually coming to a large square.

At the square we came to another large Lutheran church. This turned out to be the Riga Cathedral, the main Lutheran church in the city. It cost 5 Euros to go in. However, our visit turned out to be timely because shortly after we entered, it started pouring rain. We were glad to be inside the church staying dry.

This church has a very long history dating back to the 1200s. During its history it was burned down and rebuilt. As one enters there is a courtyard to the right with a walkway all around it. On the walkway are a lot of artifacts that have had some relationship with the church. One of the most interesting and puzzling pieces is an old head shape that a farmer discovered buried many years ago. Historians think it’s an idol, but somehow it ended up in the courtyard of the church.

Inside the Riga Cathedral the decor is pretty basic. The church has some beautiful stained glass windows and some art work. One of the interesting finds was information about the Brotherhood of the Blackheads I mentioned above. They associated with the church as a religious organization. Their patron saint was St. Maurice, a black Egyptian. In the church there are a couple of pieces of art symbolizing the Blackheads with black African-like figures.

When we left the church, the rain had stopped, and we were ready to return to our hotel. We stopped at a Latvian burger joint on the way back for an inexpensive dinner.

We walked through a very lovely park before the final stretch back to the hotel. In the evening we did laundry at a local laundromat before calling it a day. We will see what Sunday brings in next week’s blog post. See you then.