Latvia

Visited: August 2016

Duration of visit: 4 days

Capital city: Riga

Population: 1.9 million (2016)

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

• Wandering around the capital Riga, admiring various architecture styles from Gothic cathedrals to world-class Art Nouveau.
• Norwegian chain of convenience stores Narvesen on every corner in Riga.
• Cooling down with local beverage kvass – a fermented cereal-based low alcoholic beverage.
• Rundale Palace Museum – Baltic Versailles, Baroque and Rococo masterpiece, surrounded by French garden, Rose garden and green amphitheater.
• Cēsis Medieval Castle – one of the most mysterious monuments of pre-crusader times, surrounded by beautiful gardens.
• Salaspils Memorial Complex – raised on the spot where an extended prison and labor correctional camp was operating between 1941 and 1945.

Latvia, with its charming capital Riga, some historical palaces and castles is an easy-going accessible destination that I visited in 2016, together with Lithuania and Estonia. Perheps the least attractive and known of three Baltic countries, Latvia actually caught my attention mostly with Riga and Rundale Palace.

The most memorable moment for the promotion of Latvia in the international media happened on 23^rd August 1989.

One of the most peaceful political demonstrations united around 2 million Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, to form a 675 km long human chain called the Baltic Way, peacefully demanding the independence of their countries from the Soviet Union, as part of the Singing Revolution.

It is probably the most remarkable congregation of human beings for a common, peaceful cause. Considering the fact that there were approximately 8 million people living in those territories at the time, the gathering of two million demonstrators who peacefully joined hands for 15 minutes at 19:00 local time is an even more remarkable accomplishment.

As many other capitals in Europe, Riga features Gothic cathedrals, buzzing cafes and bars, architectural masterpieces like the House of Blackheads, romantic cobblestone lanes, squares bursting with summer life, museums, a diverse selection of restaurants and a beautiful historic old town.

However, the most outstanding feature of Riga is the largest array of art nouveau architecture in Europe.

Goddesses, small statues and all kind of decorations adorn more than 750 buildings that are allocated around the city, but the most spectacular open-air gallery of buildings is exhibited on Alberta iela, a street almost entirely created by Art Nouveau genius Mikhail Eisenstein. Between 1901 and 1906, Eisenstein designed many atypical, decorative buildings of Riga that still stand well preserved.

The buildings are decorated with sculptures, balconies, columns and other elements, characteristic to this style, as well as decorative elements of romantic nationalism common to northern Europe at the time. Detailed ornaments and an asymmetric design take inspiration from nature in making the lines of the facades.

The most striking feature of Art Nouveau are the ornaments, which predominantly take inspiration from human faces. Eight buildings are now recognized as architectural monuments of national significance.

Whenever I wanted to buy something in downtown Riga, I walked into one of the Narvesen stores – Norwegian chain of newsagents and convenience stores that is located on almost every corner in Riga. I haven’t seen such a great concentration of stores under the same brand, offering the same products, since Honolulu or Oslo.

It appears that the strategy of placing stores in such close proximity to one another is primarily focused on reducing competition rather than addressing the actual needs of customers.

I bought a cold can of kvass and ice cream. Kvass is a fermented cereal-based low alcoholic beverage, whose main ingredients are bread, flour, yeast and water. It is popular in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and the Baltic states, where street vendors are a common sight in cities.

In general, the prices are accessible, much lower than in Western Europe, suitable for the local standard of living and salaries. Staying in hotels, eating in restaurants and car rental do not affect my budget too much.

My favorite building in the old town is the House of the Black Heads, featuring various architectural styles and artistic trends hidden behind the opulent façade. The Latvian capital’s most magnificent edifice preserves both, the unique historical heritage of the legendary Blackheads Brotherhood and the history of Riga.

Bustling and cheerful blackheads, young and unmarried merchants, stood out with their enthusiasm and temperament, organizing celebrations and cultural events transforming this building into one of the main cultural centers that set the pulse of public life throughout the city.

Unveiled in 1935, 42 meters tall Freedom Monument made of granite and copper, has been Riga’s central landmark for almost a century. A beautiful girl holding three stars aloft, represents the unity of Latvia’s historical regions and symbolizes how hard Latvians have struggled for their country’s independence.

During the Soviet occupation, any gathering at the Freedom Monument was strictly forbidden. After independence, in the nineties, people started to congregate here to honor the establishment of their new born country, War of Independence, occupation and repression.

Maybe the most controversial memorial in Riga is the Latvian Riflemen Monument. The red granite monument was originally dedicated to the battalion which defended the Baltic territories against the Germans during World War I.

However, some of the riflemen later became Lenin’s personal bodyguards. Many view the monument as a symbol of the old communist system, while others believe it’s a tribute to the Latvians who fought in the early years of WWI. I think it is a wonderful piece of art that honor the locals who fought in the WWI; from visitors’ perspective the minimalist display of three severe soldiers, expressed in simple lines, is photogenic and attractive.

Baroque and Rococo ins style, surrounded by French garden, Rose garden and green amphitheater, the Rundale Palace is one of the two major baroque palaces built for the Dukes of Courland in two periods of four years in 18^th century. The palace was designed and built by Italian architect Franchesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the best architect of the Russian Empire at that time.

Many impressive rooms showcase an array of 18th-century furniture, interior accessories, and artistic works.

Combined with a beautiful park around the palace, designed to fulfil the aspirations of Baroque period, the complex entertained me for almost two hours.

The rosarium, one of the largest in the northern part of Europe, aligned with authentic layout of the garden bosquets and pathways, is a quiet place to take a break after intense explorations of the interiors.

In the beginning of 20^th century the palace was adapted and used as a school until 1978. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, the luxury dining room was transformed into the school’s gymnasium.

Luckily, after three decades of restoration work, in spring of 2015, the Rundale Palace opened to the visitors, as well as notable guests, such as leaders of foreign nations, who use the palace for accommodation during official visits.

I consider it really impressive how, after almost a century of misusage, adaptations and abuse of the buildings, the original splendor of the palace was regained.

Every time I visit monuments commemorating atrocities of the Second World War, I get a terrible affection. Even more so in the case of concentration camps, where thousands of innocent adults and children experienced torture, forced labor, humiliation and ultimately death for the most banal reasons – race or religion.

The Salaspils Memorial Ensemble, surrounded by beautiful nature, stands on the location where an extended police prison and Nazi labor correctional camp were located from 1941 to 1945. Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian civilians, as well as military personal, were imprisoned here.

The camp has had a lasting legacy in Latvian and Russian culture due to the severity of the treatment, especially with regards to children.

Over 20,000 prisoners went through the camp during its existence, about 2,000 died due to illness, executions and hard-working conditions.

There were no gas chambers or gassing trucks, but still half of the children at the camp were hit fatally by typhoid fever, measles and other diseases.

There were no other visitors around during my visit, so I could walk in peace around one of Europe’s largest monument complexes commemorating victims of Nazism, that was opened in 1967 on the camp territory.

The memorial creates a symbol of the border between life and death with a 100-metre-long concrete wall and giant Soviet-style statues: Mother, The Unbroken, The Infamous, Protest, Red Front and Solidarity. A separate monument, bearing the Star of David and an inscription in Hebrew, Latvian and German commemorates the Jews who died there.

I wish there would be no need to erect these kinds of monuments anymore.

Even though one third of Latvian population lives in Riga, it is not very busy in the summer, when local residents head for their summer residences in the countryside. Steeped in over 800 years of history and recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, the heart and soul of Latvia’s capital, Old Riga, stands as a highlight of my visit to Latvia.

Half of Latvia territory is covered by forest; ideal environment to pick mushrooms and berries, but not necessary for visitors, who are not properly equipped or knowledgeable about the countryside.

Maybe it is because of the dull weather or popularity of neighboring countries which I consider more charismatic, that Latvia did not leave such a strong impression on my memory. Having the same population and being 3 times bigger in size than my homeland Slovenia, I missed outstanding natural beauty, open air activities, cultural curiosities or gastronomic exuberance.