The Riga City Hall


Town Hall is the hallmark of any city founded in the Middle Ages, such a building exists in Riga . It is one of the main attractions of this village.

Riga City Hall - history of creation

For the first time the town hall is mentioned in 1249, when the Riga municipality has already appeared. Over the whole history of its existence, it has been repeatedly reconstructed, demolished and erected anew. At first the building was built on the street Tirgonu, and only in 1334 it was rebuilt in the same place, where it is, to this day - at the Town Hall Square.

The building lasted a little more than four centuries, after which it was demolished because of the dilapidated state. The engineer of the project of the new Town Hall was the military engineer Oettinger. As a result, the building appeared in a simple style, in two floors and 60 m long, its only decoration was a small portico. On the tower with chimes at a height of 60 m until 1839, the trumpeter was on duty, who noted every hour the signal of a musical instrument.

The third floor was added only in 1847, but the creation of the project involved another architect - Johann Felsko. Until 1889 the building belonged to the city court. After its disbandment, the town hall was transferred to the possession of the city library, the bank and the orphan court.

The destruction and the new history of the Town Hall

At the beginning of the Second World War, the building was completely destroyed because of the shelling of German artillery. After the war the building was not rebuilt, but the laboratory building of the Polytechnic Institute was built in its place. Only at the end of the 20th century the Riga City Hall reappeared in its rightful place.

The new building completely repeated the look of the 1874 building. It houses the Riga Duma, an interesting fact is that you can get inside without an identity card, you just have to go through the metal detector frame.

The grand opening of the modern Riga Town Hall took place in November 2003, and construction work began in the late 90s. When visiting the building, you should pay attention to the large key, which is located at the entrance, under the hood. He was melted down from the set of unnecessary keys that the townspeople put in a chest set in the Town Hall Square in 2011.

In the hall of the Riga City Hall, various exhibitions are often arranged, during which time the building becomes quite crowded. On ordinary days, you can see a collection of gifts made by Riga from friendly cities. There is a vase from Moscow, objects of folk art from Belarus and even cold weapons from Georgia.

If you go around the building around, then on a narrow street you can see a log that was found during the construction of a new building. The unique log is that it grew on the banks of the Daugava more than 3 thousand years ago. At the end of the inspection of the Riga City Hall it is recommended to stop and listen to the bells which play different melodies every hour.

How to get there?

To get to the Riga City Hall is simple, because it is located on the Town Hall Square , included in all excursions and tours around the city.