Central Apartment

What to see in Rīga

Riga (in Latvian Rīga) is the capital and the most populous city of Latvia, with more than a third of the country's population. It is located in the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of the Daugava River. With an area of ​​307.17 km², Riga is located on a sandy plain close to the Baltic Sea.

Founded in 1201, the city was a member of the Hanseatic League. The Historic Center of Riga, declared a World Heritage for UNESCO, stands out for its architecture Art Nouveau and its nineteenth -century wooden constructions. The city was designated European capital of culture in 2014, together with Umeå in Sweden. The city is communicated by air thanks to the Riga International Airport, the largest airport in the Baltic countries. Riga is a member of Eurocities, the union of Baltic cities (UBC) and the European Union Union (UCEU).

The Latvian name is Rīga ([ˈriːɡa] (? · I)) and in Spanish Riga. One of the theories about the origin of the name of Riga is that it is an erroneous loan of the word in Livonio Ringa, which means "loop", referring to the old natural port formed by the tributary loop of the Daugo River. the other It is that Riga owes its name to this role already established in the commerce between the East and the West, as a loan of the word Letona Gruja, for the barn thrilla, the "J" became a "g" By German and Riga influence, Rie is called by the English geographer Richard Hakluyt (1589), and the German historian Dionysius Fabricius (1610) confirms the origin of Riga by Rija. Another theory could Being that Riga was named by Riege, the German name for the Rīdzene River, a tributary of the Daugava.