ART NOUVEAU
CITY FOCUS | RIGA
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A s the largest city in the Baltic region , Riga has a population of 632,600 people . Offering a combination of historic architecture and modernisation , the Latvian capital sits on the Gulf of Riga – the mouth of the Daugava River , which travels through Latvia , Belarus and Russia . One of Europe ’ s longest routes spanning 5,320km between the UK and Russia , European route E 22 , also runs through the city . 40 % of the city is occupied by green spaces , with 85sq km of green territories and 47.7sq km of blue territories , including 29 parks and nine lakes and ponds .
ART NOUVEAU
The city ’ s architecture displays one of the most expensive collections of Art Nouveau in the world , spread across Riga ’ s grand boulevards . With buildings dating back to the 19th century , the city ’ s centre is protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site . “ 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 ,” states UNESCO . “ The urban fabric of its medieval centre reflects this prosperity , though most of the earliest buildings were
SEPTEMBER 2019