Riga - Old Town part 2 - Cathedral square

Old Town - North part
CATHEDRAL SQUARE, RIGA DOM, RIGA CASTLE, ST JAMES CATHEDRAL AND BARRACKS, RIVERFRONT

The Old Town is the heart of Riga, where you can find old well preserved buildings, the castle, restaurants, souvenir shops and tall churches. It is where most tourists go, but actually it is only about 5% of Riga. The Old Town is part of the UNESCO World Heritage and reminds of Tallinn's old town as well as German hansa cities. Many of the most beautiful historic buildings, like St Peter's Church, the Town Hall and House of the Blackheads where either bombed during WWII or destroyed by fires, but have been rebuilt the latter decades after the fall of the Soviet rule. The Town Hall Square is the heart of the Old Town. Riga has some of the world's best examples of jugend style architecture. This part is about the North end of the Old Town, where you can find the Dom Cathedral, the Castle. Livu Square is unfortunately not included, since I didn't have the opportunity to visit it.

Link to part 1 here.

OLD TOWN, NORTH PART, OVERVIEW:

Old Town skyline seen from Akmens Bridge. Riga Cathedral and St James Church are the tall church towers to the right.

Riga Castle in the North end of the Old Town. In the front is River Daugava and the ugly highrise to the left is the Ministry of Agriculture.

Old Town seen from Akmens Bridge

Old Town seen from Akmens Bridge,
St Peter's Church in the middle

CATHEDRAL SQUARE (DOMA LAUKUMS):

Riga Cathedral (Rigas Doms) is the largest medieval church in the Baltic states and is one of the most recognizable landmarks of Riga. It is the seat of the seat of the Achbishop of Riga. The first structure was completed in 1211, but the current construction was completed in 1776. The church tower is 90m to the spire. It incorporates several differents architecture styles, such as gothic, art noveau, renaissance revival, romanesque and baroque.


Riga Cathedral		Riga Cathedral		Riga Cathedral


Riga Cathedral		Riga Cathedral		Riga Cathedral


Cathedral Square		Cathedral Square		Cathedral Square


Doma Laukums (Cathedral Square)		Near Cathedral Square


Our Lady of Sorrows Church seen from Pils iela		Hotel Gutenbergs		Old Town street scene


Our Lady of Sorrows Church		The Anglican Church		The Anglican Church


Our Lady of Sorrows Church		Old Town street scene

CASTLE SQUARE (PILS LAUKUMS):

Riga Castle (Rigas pils), unfortunately under reconstruction during my visit because of a great fire that broke out in June 20th in 2013, just a few months before my visit! It severely damaged important parts of the castle. It is the home of the president of Latvia, and home to several museums. It was founded in 1330 by the Livonian order, but rebuilt in 1515. The square around the castle is called Pils laukums, Castle Square.

Riga Castle in August 2013, about 7 months after the big fire. In 1621 it housed the Swedish administration.

Renovated building at Castle Square


Latvijas Banka (Bank of Latvia)		Looking towards the Ministry of Agriculture at Citadel street

Traffic on Vansu Bridge, next to Riga Castle, along Krisjana Valdemar street.

Krisjana Valdemar street with its imposing buildings

Jekaba laukums (St James Square)

St James Cathedral (Sveta Jekaba Catedrale) is a tall Roman Catholic cathedral in the Northern end of the Old Town, near the castle. It was completed in 1225 and in 1756 a narrow spire, 86m tall, was added. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage.