Every year, we try to visit at least one country which we haven't travelled to before. We have visited almost all European countries already, except of the Baltics and some countries in the Nordics. Last year, we started to explore the Baltics and spent 5 days in Latvia. We stayed in Riga and travelled across the country to visit different places.
From our hotel room we enjoyed the view of the Freedom Monument, Latvian Academy of Science and Latvian National Opera (in the middle of the photo from left to right). Apparently, we booked the nicest room in the hotel, and no it was not the presidential suite 🙂
We were supposed to arrive in Riga before lunch, but we spent about two hours waiting for our rental car, so we came in the early afternoon instead. The hotel restaurant only served snacks at that time, and we decided to walk to the old town for lunch.
On our way, we crossed Bastejkalna Park with its endless greenery, flower beads, canal, fountains, bridges, sightseeing boats, and many sculptures and monuments. The park was built in the 19th century after the city walls were destroyed.
This sculpture is called 'Peace Dance', and it depicts three nude women dancing in a circle.
We were expecting to have a lot of rain during our stay, but we were lucky with the weather. It was around 25 degrees Celsius which is unusually warm for Latvia. We had some clouds, but there was no rain. Even the receptionist told us that she couldn't remember when they had such a nice weather during 5 consecutive days. We came from the heatwave in Mallorca, so 25 degrees was like spring weather for us 🙂
This is one of many sightseeing boats that we saw. I will take you on a tour, but another time.
Bastion Hill is a small hill located in the park. I remember we were giggling when we found out that this was the highest hill in Riga 🙂
I must admit that it is a charming place that is so well organized. I like structure and look at these symmetrical walls. There are local trees as well as some rarities, such as gingko biloba (not on this photo though).
Looking at the park in this direction, you wouldn't say that it is located next to a busy road with trams and many cars.
Water is present in one way or another across the entire park. I remember that this slot was calming because of the gentle sound of water running down the hill.
Jacob's Barracks are located across the street from the park. It is a row of yellow buildings built in the 18th century used by soldiers who protected the fortification of Riga. Today, there are plenty of restaurants and bars in the complex, and we enjoyed our lunch in one of them.
This side of the barracks caught our attention because of its bright color and images of coats of arms of almost all Latvian municipalities. We found all the places that we planned to visit in these images.
Just a few streets away from the Jacob's barracks we arrived at the Dome square. The square was lively with many people walking around, and many terraces with employees preparing for dinner. We didn't have any plans for our first day in Riga other than exploring the old town, and when we saw that the Cathedral was open for one more hour, we decided to give it a go.
I don't remember how much we paid for the entrance, but it was not expensive. We thought that it was only a church, and found paying for the entrance strange, but then we realized that there was an extensive Gothic cloister in the complex too, so we had to hurry up to see it all in one hour.
The foundation of the Cathedral was laid at the beginning of the 13th century by Livonian Bishop Albert of Riga, and it is one of the oldest and biggest religious buildings in the Baltic region. It was built in the Romanesque style, and enlarged in the 14th and 15th centuries. There were other reconstructions and modifications during centuries, and the Cathedral as we know it now was finished in the second half of the 19th century. Today, it is used for ceremonies as well as for concerts. We have also learned that Riga Cathedral is a historic cultural monument of national significance. Cathedral
When we entered the Cathedral I was surprised by its size. It is much bigger than it looks from outside. The exterior is rather simple with almost no decorations. You can see that this is not a Catholic Cathedral where we would find lots of gold and countless ornaments. It is an Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral.
The altar is simple and small, in contrast to the thick high walls and huge space surrounding it. The stained glass windows are beautiful with a lot of detail.
The jewel of the Cathedral is its organ. It is considered one of the most valuable organs in the world. It was built in 1883-1884 by a German company. There are almost 7000 pipes made of different woods and metal alloys. The shortest pipe is 13 mm long and the longest pipe is 10 m long. Some of the pipes were lost during World War II and replaced in the second half of the 20th century. Organ
Let's explore the cloister now!
The Gothic cloister which was built in the 13th century connected the cathedral with former monastery, later the Dom Chapter house, and today The Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation. Nowadays, the museum displays many artifacts in the cloister.
It's a fascinating place, and I really liked that the gallery lacked maintenance, the walls were old and it looked like the artifacts were somehow randomly placed. Each artifact had a sign with some explanation next to it, so we learned some interesting facts too.
This monument to Peter I., Emperor of Russia was placed at the site of the present Freedom Monument for a few years at the beginning of the 20th century.
Peter I. was the Russian ruler to implement reforms that helped them make progress in various fields, such as economy, trade or education.
Apparently, this urn holds the heart of Carl Gustav Jochmann, important author, philosopher and critic of his times. It was his wish that his heart was placed in a porcelain vessel and sent to his friend Conrad Heinrich von Sengbusch. I'm not sure how I would appreciate such gift if I was the recipient 🙂
One more artifact before going to the courtyard...
This is the so-called Stone head from Salaspils. Its origins are unclear, but it is one of the greatest discoveries of Latvian archaeologists. The sculpture is shaped with primitive, but expressive human features. The sculpture is 93 cm high and it weights about 780 kg. It is a very heavy stone 🙂
The courtyard invites people to relax with its groomed grass fields and plenty of benches. It's a great place to sit down and just enjoy being surrounded by almost 1000 years of history. There is the Cathedral, the cloister, the sacristy, the chapel of St. John, large staircase and some rooms with unknown original purpose.
There were many charming corners in the complex...
Different architectural styles are blended perfectly here.
We didn't manage to climb the tower due to lack of time, but I'm sure that there were some great views of Riga waiting for us.
This was probably the most romantic slot in the cloister. I had to wait for some time to take a picture as there were a few couples ahead of me trying to take the best selfie with it.
Lavabo from outside...
If I remember correctly there was only two trees in the courtyard and I wonder how it is possible that they're almost in all of my photos 🙂
On the façade of the Cathedral there is a statue of Albert von Buxhoeveden, the founder of Riga.
A few last glimpses of the complex before leaving for dinner. Time flies so fast when you're having fun!
I hope you have enjoyed our tour of the Cathedral.
Thank you for reading.
Cheers!
Martina
Vy ale fakt máte na to počasí všude štěstí! :D Moc pěkné fotky. Já byl z pobaltských států jenom v Litvě, na pár dní na návštěvě za segrou, která tam ve Vilniusu byla na Erasmu a musím říct, že jako nic moc :D Bylo to v dubnu a počasí bylo hrozné, furt jen sněžilo/pršelo, tak mi tam všechno připadalo takové šedivé a depresivní. Ale ty tvoje fotky se mi líbí moc, tak třeba ještě dám někdy Pobaltí šanci, i když teda náš typ zeměpisné šířky to úplně není :D
S tym pocasim to bude karma 😉 Ale mas pravdu, vacsinou mame super pocasie. Len raz sa nam stalo, ze sme za lanovku zaplatili 110 CHF za osobu, prisli sme hore a nevideli sme nic, lebo bola snehova burka. Takze tak..
Mna zaujima ich kultura. Tie krajiny na severe su velmi zaujimave. Lotyssko bolo fakt super, urcite by som odporucila na par dni. Riga vyzera ako mala Praha krizena s Budapestou a po okoli maju vela hradov a zamkov, co sme si teda uzili 🙂 Ludia boli strasne mili, vsetko je to tam ciste, maju vela poulicnych umelcov a super ceny.
Nam to pocasie po Mallorke fakt vyhovovalo 😁
No tak podle toho, co tady popisuješ, je buď Litva úplně jiná a nebo jsem měl na všechno fakt smůlu, protože mi to tam přišlo škaredé, špinavé a šedivé a lidi nepříjemní a zamračení :D Ale možná to fakt bylo tím počasím, bylo opravdu extrémně hnusně :D Jediné aspoň trošku slušné fotky jsem udělal na hradě Trakai kousek za Vilniusem, kde mi na chvilinku vysvitlo sluníčko :)
Ale to se s těma tvýma fotkama nedá ani srovnat. Malá Praha křížená s Budapeští říkáš... No, to zní zajímavě :) Tomu bysme mohli dát šanci :D
Tak ten hrad vyzera super. Boli ste aj dnu?
Bolo tam naozaj pekne. Budovy nie su tak opravene ako v Prahe alebo v Budapesti, ale urcite nie su spinave a sedive. A ludia boli naozaj mili, ci uz v obchode, restikach alebo len tak na ulici.
Ale musim povedat, ze tam nebolo vela cudzincov, teda aspon nie takych co rozpravali po anglicky. Ale ja to mam tak rada, kedze sa necitim dobre, ked je vsade strasne vela ludi.
Inak, budem davat postupne nejake fotky, tak uvidis ake to tam bolo 🙂
Úplně vevnitř jsem nebyl, ale jako na nádvoří jo. Dokonce jsem teď našel post, který jsem o tom hradu kdysi napsal :)
https://peakd.com/architecturalphotography/@phortun/architectural-photography-trakai-castle-the-iconic-landmark-of-lithuania
Super, budu se tedy těšit na další články o Rize :) Jinak těch anglicky mluvících lidí nebylo moc ani v Litvě, zato umělo dost místních rusky... To ale asi není zas takové překvapení.
This is a really good idea to visit one country once a year... We should setup that too, and to begin with Switzerland maybe :D
Gosh the first part is sooo green, it’s such a pleasure for the eyes ! And thanks you for all the informations shared about that monument to Peter I. I’m quite passionate about Russian history and it brought me some interesting elements :)
Thanks you for your beautiful shoots as always, really had the impression to be by your side ! Cheers 🥂
Well, well, well, I thought you already visited Switzerland 😉 we really enjoy this 'system' as we get to see something new every time. My brother in law goes EVERY YEAR to the same location in south of France. It would drive me crazy 😁 We always go somewhere else and learn a lot of new things.
Trees there are brightly green because they have enough rain and humidity, and temperature don't get as high as in France (as an example), so they stay green for longer. We learned a lot about Russian history at school, so this was like refreshing of my memory 🙂
Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words!
Indeed, but there's still many spots where I haven't been, including yours !
I also have those in my family and I have to say that every summer, we do part discovery, part same spots also because those are amazing in the south of France and in Brittany !
You're most welcome and I hope you'll enjoy an very pleasant weekend 😘
I really like the way you presented this cathedral, by the way, did you go for a ride in those beautiful boats on the canals of Riga or did you get to stop by Leilais Kristaps, the statue of Christopher, I think there is a film festival called that.
We went for a ride 🙂 It was a bit too exciting for me as I'm not comfortable on water and we driving around Riga where the river looks almost like sea, and it was windy, we had waves and I almost peed in my pants 😂
I didn't hear about this statue before!! Now, we have to go back 😉
Thank you for stopping by!
Yes, fear of water can sometimes be a disadvantage, often to see certain places or get there you have to be in a boat, but never say never.
From my own experience I can tell you that until a few years ago I was afraid of flying, I didn't even want to hear about it, but I took heart and for the first flight of my life I chose a destination in Africa, as far away as possible, I said that if I get away from here everything will be fine.
And since flying for the first time, air travel has become my passion, I was able to get rid of this fear.
No, no, no, it doesn't really work like this for me with water 😂 I would much rather die in a plane crash than drown in water. That's my worst nightmare. I'm a bad swimmer, so if something would happen I WOULD DIE, so I try to avoid being on water as much as I can. Taking a sightseeing boat was a real challenge for me 😉 Once I took a ferry in Italy and not only I was scared to death but I also became soooo sea sick! Not one of my finest moments 😂
Indeed, in your case it's good to stay away from the water, but still rather than feeling bad you'd rather avoid visiting sights that involve a boat.
From my experience as a traveller I can say that I had the opportunity to visit some spectacular sights, reaching them of course by boat or ship.
There's no point in bringing up what a unique feeling you can get when you do a dive, this I tell you from experience on a dive I did in Greece, hehe.
After all, you know your limits and you know where your comfort zone lies.
Wow! What a splendid post and photos! Thank you, Martina, for sharing your tour of the Riga Cathedral with us!
Thank you for stopping by! I'm so sorry to see that you still reject the rewards on your posts. You have already apologized to the community, isn't that enough?
Hello, Martina! No need to thank me for that! It is all my pleasure to read your posts. Yes, it's true that I've made the apology post to the community, but in my case it was determined by the wivewatchers team that I had to publish 60 post (one post per day, any 60 days) before to appeal to remove my name from the blacklist of users. I've plagiarized has I said in my first post, by using wikipedia and other sources in my texts without referring them... I didn't mean to defraud the community, but I'm focused in correct my mistake.
I believe in Hive community and ecosystem and in some users like you, that brings originality and knowledge to us!
Thank you so much for your kind comments! 🍀
I'm sorry that you have to do so much to 'clear' your name. I am sure that you didn't do anything wrong intentionally. I enjoy your posts and I can't wait to be able to support them again 🙂
Thank you for your kind words. You bring originality and knowledge to the community too! 🙂
Have a lovely day!
Nice photos! There's a lot to see in Riga. I was there for a week and didn't visit these places. I went to the national art museum, the occupation museum, the beach, the market and a brand new gym. But I mostly enjoyed walking around, looking at the historical buildings in the old city and the Jugendstil/Art Noveau buildings in the Centrs neighborhood.
And I didn't visit any of the places that you mentioned 🙂 I also enjoyed walking around and looking at the historical buildings. I must admit that we were surprised with how pretty the city was. We didn't expect it to be so nice.
Thank you for stopping by!
I absolutely loved all the photos. I couldn't decide wich was my favorite of them all. What an amazing cathedral!
Greetings! 🤗💖
Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
Beautiful Latvia! This is definitely on the list but for now I get to live vicariously through your great photography and writing! Loved the architecture and the tranquil mood of the park. Thanks a lot for sharing!
If I would be from your part of the world, I don't think that Latvia would even cross my mind.. I would be probably too busy exploring the Caribbean 😁
I love the idea of visiting a new country every year. In fact, this would probably be one of the best time during those travel period.
While Latvia does seems like a very nice place to explore.
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The park is really very clean and makes my eyes very comfortable looking at it especially with calm water like that. I think it's one of the places we really enjoy relaxing there.
Fantastic pictures, really beautiful!
Best regards!❤️
Thank you for stopping by!
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WoW with that organ!
Beautiful cathedral.
Thank you! 🙂
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Thank you, Pauline! 😘
This is a great post.
I love all your photos 🫶🏻🫶🏻
Thank you! 🤗
The park building with the ecological natural beauty, like a greenery every part of them I see green. It is cool to discover new country, I have never visiting abroad before, hope that I would make it one day!
That cathedral looks artistic and magical. You have captured each angle beautifully.😊
Thanks a lot! 🙂
You're welcome.😊
I like the photos! And before I don't know that Cathedral exist o.o it's beautiful o.o thanks for present this
Latvia is a country I've never thought about visiting, but it looks lovely! And 25 degrees! Fantastic!
Thank you! I have always wanted to visit the Baltics as it's part of the world which I think is very interesting and maybe misunderstood.
Thank you for stopping by! 🙂
opravdu krásné místo.