Riga ( ), officially Riga State City (), is the capital, primate, and largest city of Latvia and the second most-populous city in the Baltics. Home to 588,911 inhabitants (as of 2026), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 847,162 (as of 2025). The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers and lies above sea level on a flat and sandy plain.
Riga was founded in 1201, and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau architecture and 19th century wooden architecture. Riga was the European Capital of Culture in 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden. Riga hosted the 2006 NATO Summit, the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, the 2013 World Women's Curling Championship, and the IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships in 2006, 2021, and 2023. It is home to the European Union's office of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). In 2017, it was named as the European Region of Gastronomy.
In 2019, Riga received over 1.4 million foreign visitors. The city is served by Riga International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in the Baltic States. Riga is a member of Eurocities, the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC), and Union of Capitals of the European Union (UCEU).
Etymology The precise origin of the name is unknown; however, there are numerous and speculative theories for the origin of the name Riga:
It could be derived from Riege, the German name for the River Rīdzene, a former tributary of the Daugava. Bishop Albert claimed credit from his campaign to conquer and convert the local populace, as coming from the Latin ("irrigated"), symbolising an "irrigation of dry pagan souls by Christianity".
Nonetheless, the most reliably documented explanation is the affirmation by German historian Dionysius Fabricius (1610) that Riga's name comes from its already established role in trade: "Riga obtained its name from the buildings or warehouses found in great number along the banks of the Duna, which the Livs in their own language are accustomed to call Riae".Fabrius, D. Livonicae Historiae Compendiosa Series, 1610 The "j" in Latvian hardened to a "g" in German. English geographer Richard Hakluyt (1589) corroborates this account, calling Riga as Rie, as pronounced in Old Latvian.Bilmanis, A. Latvia as an Independent State. Latvian Legation. 1947. This is further supported by the fact that Riga is called Riia in Estonian (a language closely related to Livonian).
History
Founding The river Daugava has been a trade route since antiquity, part of the Vikings' Dvina–Dnieper navigation route to Byzantium.Bilmanis, A. Latvia as an Independent State. Latvian Legation. 1947. A sheltered natural harbor upriver from the mouth of the Daugava—the site of today's Riga—has been recorded, as Duna Urbs, as early as the 2nd century. It was settled by the Livs, a Finnic tribe. Riga began to develop as a centre of Viking trade during the early Middle Ages. Riga's inhabitants engaged mainly in fishing, animal husbandry, and trading, later developing crafts, including bone, wood, amber, and iron.
The Livonian Chronicle of Henry testifies to Riga having long been a trading centre by the 12th century, referring to it as (ancient port), and describes dwellings and warehouses used to store mostly flax, and hides. German traders began visiting Riga, establishing a nearby outpost in 1158.
Along with German traders, the monk Meinhard of SegebergVauchez et al. Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. Routledge, 2001 arrived to convert the Livonian pagans to Christianity. Catholic and Orthodox Christianity had already arrived in Latvia more than a century earlier, and many Latvians had been baptized. Meinhard settled among the Livs, building a castle and church at Uexküll (now known as Ikšķile), upstream from Riga, and established his bishopric there. The Livs, however, continued to practice paganism and Meinhard died in Uexküll in 1196, having failed in his mission.Germanis, U. The Latvian Saga. 10th ed. 1998. Memento, Stockholm. In 1198, the Bishop Berthold arrived with a contingent of crusaders and commenced a campaign of forced Christianization. Berthold died soon afterwards and his forces were defeated.
The Church mobilized to avenge this defeat. Pope Innocent III issued a bull declaring a crusade against the Livonians. Bishop Albert was proclaimed Bishop of Livonia by his uncle Hartwig of Uthlede, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen and Hamburg in 1199. Albert landed in Riga in 1200 with 23 shipsLaffort, R. (censor), Catholic Encyclopedia, Robert Appleton Co., 1907 and 500 Westphalian crusaders.Tolstoy-Miloslavsky, D. The Tolstoys: Genealogy and Origin. A2Z, 1991 In 1201, he transferred the seat of the Livonian bishopric from Uexküll to Riga, extorting agreement to do this from the elders of Riga by force.
Under Bishop Albert
The year 1201 also marked the first arrival of German merchants in Novgorod, via the Dvina.Dollinger, P. The Emergence of International Business 1200–1800, 1964; translated Macmillan and Co edition, 1970 To defend territoryReiner et al. Riga. Lorenzo Pigni. 1999. and trade, Albert established the Order of Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1202, which was open to nobles and merchants.
The Christianisation of the Livs continued. In 1207, Albert started to fortify the town.Zarina, D. Old Riga: Tourist Guide, Spriditis, 1992 King Philip invested Albert with Livonia as a fiefMoeller et al. History of the Christian Church. MacMillan & Co. 1893. and principality of the Holy Roman Empire. To promote a permanent military presence, territorial ownership was divided between the Church and the Order, with the Church taking Riga and two-thirds of all lands conquered and granting the Order a third.Palmieri, A. Catholic Origin of Latvia, ed. Cororan, J.A. et al. The American Catholic Quarterly Review, Volume XLVI, January–October 1921. Philadelphia. Until then, it had been customary for crusaders to serve for a year and then return home.
Albert had ensured Riga's commercial future by obtaining papal bulls which decreed that all German merchants had to carry on their Baltic trade through Riga. In 1211, Riga minted its first coinage, and Albert laid the cornerstone for the Riga Dom. Riga was not yet secure as an alliance of tribes failed to take Riga. In 1212, Albert led a campaign to compel Polotsk to grant German merchants free river passage. Polotsk conceded Kukenois (Koknese) and Jersika to Albert, also ending the Livs' tribute to Polotsk.Kooper, E. The Medieval Chronicle V. Radopi, 2008.
Riga's merchant citizenry chafed and sought greater autonomy from the Church. In 1221, they acquired the right to independently self-administer Riga and adopted a city constitution.Wright, C.T.H. The Edinburgh Review, The Letts, 1917
That same year Albert was compelled to recognise Danish rule over lands they had conquered in Estonia and Livonia.Murray, A., Crusade and Conversion on the Baltic Frontier, 1150–1500. Ashgate, London. 2001. Albert had sought the aid of King Valdemar of Denmark to protect Riga and Livonian lands against Liv insurrection when reinforcements could not reach Riga. The Danes landed in Livonia, built a fortress at Reval (Tallinn) and set about conquering Estonian and Livonian lands. The Germans attempted, but failed, to assassinate Valdemar."The Ecclesiastical Review", Vol. LVI. American Ecclesiastical Review. Dolphin Press. 1917. Albert was able to reach accommodation with them a year later, however, and in 1222 Valdemar returned all Livonian lands and possessions to Albert's control.Fonnesberg-Schmidt, I. The Popes and the Baltic Crusades, 1147–1254. Brill. 2006.
Albert's difficulties with Riga's citizenry continued; with papal intervention, a settlement was reached in 1225 whereby they no longer had to pay tax to the Bishop of Riga,Švābe, A., ed. Latvju Enciklopēdija. Trīs Zvaigznes, Stockholm. 1953–1955 (in Latvian) and Riga's citizens acquired the right to elect their magistrates and town councillors. In 1226, Albert consecrated the Dom Cathedral, built St. James's Church, (now a cathedral) and founded a parochial school at the Church of St. George.
In 1227, Albert conquered OeselFletcher, R.A., The Conversion of Europe: From Paganism to Christianity, 371–1386AD. Harper Collins. 1991. and the city of Riga concluded a treaty with the Principality of Smolensk giving Polotsk to Riga.Michell, Thomas. Handbook for Travelers in Russia, Poland, and Finland. London, John Murray, 1888.
Albert died in January 1229.Fonnesberg-Schmidt, I., The Popes and the Baltic Crusades, 1147–1254. Brill, 2007 He failed in his aspiration to be anointed archbishop but the German hegemony he established over the Livonia would last for seven centuries.
Hanseatic League In 1282, Riga became a member of the Hanseatic League. The Hansa was instrumental in giving Riga economic and political stability, thus providing the city with a strong foundation which endured the political conflagrations that were to come, down to modern times.
Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Swedish and Russian Empires
As the influence of the Hanseatic League waned, Riga became the object of foreign military, political, religious and economic aspirations. Riga accepted the Reformation in 1522, ending the power of the archbishops. In 1524, iconoclasts during iconoclast riots targeted a statue of the Virgin Mary in the cathedral to make a statement against religious icons. It was accused of being a witch, and given a trial by water in the Daugava river. The statue floated, so it was denounced as a witch and burnt at Kubsberg. With the demise of the Livonian Order (1561) during the Livonian War, Riga for twenty years had the status of a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire before it came under the influence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by the Treaty of Drohiczyn, which ended the war for Riga in 1581. In 1621, during the Polish–Swedish War (1621–1625), Riga and the outlying fortress of Daugavgrīva came under the rule of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, who intervened in the Thirty Years' War not only for political and economic gain but also in favour of German Lutheran Protestantism. During the Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658), Riga withstood a siege by Russian forces.
Riga remained one of the largest cities under the Swedish crown until 1710,The Dynamics of Economic Culture in the North Sea and Baltic Region. Uitgeverij Verloren, 2007. . P. 242. a period during which the city retained a great deal of autonomous self-government. In July 1701, during the opening phase of the Great Northern War, the Crossing of the Düna took place nearby, resulting in a victory for king Charles XII of Sweden. Between November 1709 and June 1710, however, the Russians under Tsar Peter the Great besieged and captured Riga, which was at the time struck by a plague. Along with the other Livonian towns and gentry, Riga capitulated to Russia, but largely retained their privileges. Riga was made the capital of the Governorate of Riga (later, Livonia). Sweden's northern dominance had ended, and Russia's emergence as the strongest Northern power was formalised through the Treaty of Nystad in 1721. At the beginning of the 20th century, Riga was the largest timber export port in the Russian Empire and ranked the 3rd according to the external trade volume.