Historic Centre of Riga World Heritage Site

Official name

Historic Centre of Riga | UNESCO

Country

Latvia | Map

Continent

Europe

Location

City of Riga
56.9541° Lat, 24.1166° Lon | Map

Code

852

Time Zone

Europe/Riga (EET, +0200)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 1997. Riga was a major centre of the Hanseatic League, deriving its prosperity in the 13th–15th centuries from the trade with central and eastern Europe. The urban fabric of its medieval centre reflects this prosperity, though most of the earliest buildings were destroyed by fire or war. Riga became an important economic centre in the 19th century, when the suburbs surrounding the medieval town were laid out, first with imposing wooden buildings in neoclassical style and then in Jugendstil . It is generally recognized that Riga has the finest collection of art nouveau buildings in Europe.