Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. Home to 605,802 inhabitants, the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 860,142. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3.3–32.8 ft) above sea level, on a flat and sandy plain.
The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was de facto one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990.
Jelgava is a state city in central Latvia about 41 kilometres southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and the administrative center of the Courland Governorate (1795–1918).
The Latvian Orthodox Church is an Eastern Orthodox church in Latvia, part of the wider Eastern Orthodoxy community. The primate of the church carries the title of Metropolitan of Riga and all Latvia. This position has been occupied since October 27, 1990, by metropolitan Aleksandrs Kudrjašovs.
Riga Castle is a castle on the banks of River Daugava in Riga, the capital of Latvia. The castle was founded in 1330. Its structure was thoroughly rebuilt between 1497 and 1515. Upon the castle's seizure by the Swedes, they constructed spacious annexes in 1641. The fortress was continually augmented and reconstructed between the 17th and 19th centuries. Sometime in the 1930s, some renovation work was done by architect Eižens Laube. The Latvian government declared the castle its residence in 1938. Today it is the official residence of the President of Latvia as well as home to several museums.
Ford-Vairogs was the name of a car factory in Riga, Latvia that produced license-built Ford cars between September 1937 and 1940 when it was expropriated as the property of the Soviet government. Not including the war department orders, Ford-Vairogs made 200 buses, 1000 trucks and 332 automobiles.
Aleksandra Mitrofanovna Beļcova was a Latvian-Russian painter.
The history of the Jews in Latvia dates back to the first Jewish colony established in Piltene in 1571. Jews contributed to Latvia's development until the Northern War (1700–1721), which decimated Latvia's population. The Jewish community reestablished itself in the 18th century, mainly through an influx from Prussia, and came to play a principal role in the economic life of Latvia.
Ķekava is a city in Latvia, in the historical region of Vidzeme. It is on the left side of Sausā Daugava, a tributary of the Daugava River. Ķekava serves as the center of Ķekava Municipality and Ķekava Parish.
Viktors Arājs was a Latvian/Baltic German collaborator and Nazi SS SD officer who took part in the Holocaust during the German occupation of Latvia and Belarus as the leader of the Arajs Kommando. The Arajs Kommando murdered about half of Latvia's Jews.
Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation is housed by the Riga Dom Cathedral ensemble in the heart of the Old Riga, Latvia. It originated in 1773 as a private collection of Nikolaus von Himsel, a Riga doctor and, being one of the oldest museums in Europe, over the centuries it has grown into the largest collection of material evidence of the history of Riga.
Art Museum Riga Bourse is a museum in Riga, Latvia. It was established in 1920 and contains the most extensive collection of world art in Latvia from Ancient Egyptian/Middle Eastern art dating back to 5000 BC to present.
Riga Stradiņš University (RSU) is a public university located in the city of Riga, Latvia. The name Stradiņš in the university's title refers to the Stradiņš family who have had a significant influence on the course of community and academic life in Latvia for over a century.
Helēna Demakova is a Latvian art historian, curator of art exhibitions, and politician. She served as Culture Minister of Latvia from 2004 until 2009 and was a Member of the 9th Saeima and lecturer at the Art Academy of Latvia.
Porcelain Museum may refer to:
Elita is a Latvian brand of cigarettes that was produced between 1967 and 2009 by the Latvian company "Rīgas Tabakas Fabrika" and later by British American Tobacco. According to the data submitted by the Latvian State Revenue Service, Elita was the most sold brand filtered cigarettes in Latvia for the period of about twenty years.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Riga, Latvia.
Niklāvs Strunke (1894–1966) was a Latvian painter and graphic artist. One of the most original artists of the Latvian modernist generation, he also worked in stained glass and scenography. He wrote about art.. Born 6 October 1894 in Gostynin, Russian Empire, to the family of a non-commissioned officer in the army of the Russian Empire. In 1903 he moved to Valmiera to live with his father's sister, and in 1909 he graduated from Liepiņš Progymnasium there. He moved to St. Petersburg with his father, and studied 1909–11 at the school of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts under Nikolai Roerich and Ivan Bilibin.
Latvia–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Latvia and Turkey. Both countries are members of NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
