Timeline of Riga

Part of a series on the
History of Latvia
Ancient Latvia Kunda culture Narva culture Corded Ware culture Amber Road / Aesti Baltic Finns (Livonians, Vends) Balts Latgalians Curonians Selonians Semigallians
Middle Ages Principality of Jersika Principality of Koknese Tālava Livonian Crusade Livonian Brothers of the Sword Livonian Order Archbishopric of Riga Bishopric of Courland Terra Mariana Baltic Germans
Early modern period Livonian War Kingdom of Livonia Duchy of Livonia Inflanty Voivodeship Swedish Livonia Polish–Swedish Wars (1600–1629) Second Northern War Great Northern War Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Couronian colonization
National Awakening Governorate of Livonia Courland Governorate Vitebsk Governorate The First Latvian National Awakening New Current
Modern Latvia Latvian Riflemen German occupation United Baltic Duchy Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic War of Independence 1934 Latvian coup d'état 1940 Soviet occupation Nazi occupation The Holocaust in Latvia 1944 Soviet re-occupation Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Popular Front of Latvia Singing Revolution Restoration of Independence 2008 Latvian financial crisis
Chronology
Latvia portal

• 1158 CE – Area settled by Bremen merchants.[1]
• 1190 – Augustinian monastery established.[1]
• 1201 – Town built by Catholic bishop Albert.[2]
• 1202
  • Bishopric of Livonia relocates to Riga from Üxküll.[3]
  • Order of the Brethren of the Sword founded.[4]
• 1209 – St. Peter's Church active.
• 1211 – Church of the Virgin construction begins.[4]
• 1225
  • Riga Town Council active (approximate date).[5]
  • St. James's Church dedicated.
• 1234 – St. John's Chapel built (approximate date).
• 1255 – Archbishopric of Riga established.
• 1260 – St. Mary Magdalene's Church built.
• 1282 – Riga joins Hanseatic League.[6]
• 1330 – Brotherhood of Blackheads organized.[1]

• 1510 – December: Christmas tree displayed in marketplace.[7]
• 1515 – Riga Castle rebuilt.
• 1524 – Public library established.[8][9]
• 1541 – Riga joins League of Schmalkalden.[4]
• 1547 – Sigismund II of Poland in power.[1]
• 1558 – Riga area besieged by Russians.[1]
• 1561 – Territory converts to Lutheranism from Catholicism.
• 1581 – Riga is granted status of Imperial Free City.
• 1582 – Polish in power.[4]
• 1584 – Calendar riots begin.[5][10]
• 1588 – Nicolaus Mollinus sets up printing business.[10]
• 1591 – St. Gertrude Church rebuilt.

• 1621 – Riga taken by forces of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.[6]
• 1638 – Church of Jesus consecrated.
• 1650 – Powder Tower rebuilt.[4]
• 1656 – Riga besieged by Russian forces of Alexis Mikhailovich.[4]
• 1698 – Swedish Gate constructed.

• 1710 – Siege of Riga; Russians in power.[1]
• 1721 – Riga becomes part of Russian empire.[4]
• 1728 – St. Peter and St. Paul Church built (approximate date).
• 1765 – City Hall built.[4]
• 1773
  • Great Cemetery and Pokrov Cemetery established.
  • Himsel Museum established.[11]
• 1781 – City becomes capital of Riga viceroyalty.[1]
• 1782 – The Riga City Theater is founded.[12]
• 1785 – Our Lady of Sorrows Church built.
• 1796 – City becomes capital of Livonia.[1]
• 1798 – Grebenstchikov House of Prayer rebuilt.

• 1812
  • Fire.[13]
  • Siege of Riga by French forces.
• 1817 – Wohrmann Park inaugurated.
• 1818
  • Annunciation of Our Most Holy Lady Church built.
  • Erection of a granite column in a square facing the citadel to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon in 1812.[1]
• 1825 – St. Alexander Nevsky Church built.
• 1833 – Homeopathic pharmacy opened by the Association of Chemists and Pharmaceutists.[14]
• 1845 – Museum of Natural History founded.
• 1852 – St. Martin's Church built.
• 1854 – Riga blockaded by British.[4]
• 1855 – Exchange built.[4]
• 1857
  • Large Guild built.
  • Population: 70,463.[15]
• 1858 – City fortifications dismantled.[16]
• 1859 – English Church built.[4]
• 1861 – Riga Central Station built; Riga – Daugavpils Railway begins operating.[15]
• 1862 – Riga Polytechnical Institute founded.
• 1863 – Riga City Theatre built.[4]
• 1866 – Small Guild built.
• 1867 – Population: 102,590.[1]
• 1868
  • Riga – Jelgava Railway begins operating.
  • Riga Latvian Society founded.[17]
• 1869
  • Polytechnic built.[4]
  • Riga City Art Gallery opens.[11]
  • Latvian Museum of National History founded.
• 1870 – Kunstverein founded.[11]
• 1873 – Latvian Song and Dance Festival begins.
• 1877 – Tornakalns – Tukums II Railway begins operating; Brasa Station opens.
• 1878 – Imperial city self-government statute in effect.[15]
• 1881 – Population: 169,329.[18]
• 1883
  • Riga Russian Theatre established.
  • Nativity Cathedral built.
• 1887 – St. Paul's Lutheran Church built.
• 1889 – Riga – Lugazi Railway begins operating.[15]
• 1890 – Ludvigs Vilhelms Kerkoviuss becomes mayor.
• 1891
  • Church of Luther consecrated.
  • Russian language becomes official language of Baltic provinces.
• 1892
  • Municipal "counter-reform" enacted by imperial government.[15]
  • St. Francis Church consecrated.
• 1895 – Holy Trinity Orthodox Church built; Holy Archangel Mikhail Church dedicated.
• 1897 – Population: 282,943.[1]

• 1903 – Commercial school established.[1]
• 1905
  • 13 January: Demonstration suppressed by Russian army.
  • Museum of Art built.[1]
• 1906
  • Rīgas Centrālā bibliotēka (library) opens.[19]
  • St. Gertrude New Church built.
  • Apollo Theatre (Riga) established.
• 1907 – Holy Trinity Cathedral built.
• 1909 – Church of the Cross and Cat House built.
• 1912 – Riga Zoo opens.[20]
• 1914
  • Railway Bridge inaugurated.
  • Population: 569,100.[21]
• 1915
  • Brothers' Cemetery established.
  • Port closed.[6]
• 1916 – Riflemen Museum founded.
• 1917 – 3 September: Germans in power.[6][22]
• 1918 – 18 November: Riga becomes capital of independent Latvia.[23]
• 1919
  • 3 January: Soviets in power.[2]
  • May: Soviets ousted.[2]
  • National Library of Latvia, Latvia Higher School, Latvian Conservatory of Music, and Latvian National Theatre founded.
  • Latvju Opera active.
• 1920
  • Riga Artists Group formed.[24]
  • Latvian Museum of Foreign Art established.
  • Dailes Theatre opens.
• 1921 – Art Academy established.
• 1922 – University of Latvia Botanic Garden created.[25]
• 1927 – Mezaparks Lutheran Church active.
• 1928 – Spilve Airport in operation.
• 1930 – Riga Central Market built.
• 1932 – The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia opens.
• 1935 – Freedom Monument unveiled.
• 1937
  • Mangali – Rujiena Railway begins operating.
  • City hosts EuroBasket 1937.
• 1940 – Soviet incorporation.
• 1941
  • 13–14 June: June deportation .[2]
  • 1 July: German occupation begins.[2]
  • October: Jewish ghetto created.[26]
  • Proletariat, Kirov, and Moscow administrative districts established.
• 1944
  • 13 October: Soviets in power again.[2][6]
  • Latvian State Puppet Theatre founded.
• 1946 – Dinamo Riga ice hockey team formed.
• 1949
  • March 25th-28th: March Deportations
  • Riga Autobus Factory is founded.
• 1950 – Riga Medical Institute established.
• 1954 – Latvijas Televīzija (television station) headquartered in city.[27]
• 1956
  • Academy of Sciences building constructed.
  • Riga Aviation Museum established.
• 1957
  • Rīgas Balss newspaper begins publication.[27]
  • Stone Bridge opens.
• 1958
  • TTT Riga and BK VEF Rīga basketball clubs formed.
  • Daugava Stadium opens.
• 1964 – Coach Terminal built.
• 1965 – Population: 657,000.[28]
• 1969 – October, Lenin, and Leningrad administrative districts established.
• 1972 – Andrejs Upits' Memorial Museum founded.
• 1973 – Riga International Airport built.
• 1977 – Island Bridge built.
• 1979 – Population: 840,000.[29]
• 1981 – Gorky Bridge opens.
• 1984
  • Alfreds Rubiks becomes mayor.
  • Zolitūde construction begins.
• 1985
  • Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders erected.
  • Krisjanis Barons Memorial Museum established.
  • Population: 883,000.[30]
• 1986 – Riga Radio and TV Tower built.
• 1987
  • 14 June: Demonstrators commemorate 1941 deportations.
  • Latvian Museum of Pharmacy founded.
• 1988 – Riga Film Museum established.
• 1989
  • Arsenals – Fine Arts Museum active[11]
  • Latvian Museum of Decorative Arts and Design opens.[11]
  • Riga Motor Museum founded.
• 1990
  • 4 May: Restoration of Latvian independence
  • Diena newspaper begins publication.[27]
  • Latvian Academy of Culture established.[31]
  • Andris Teikmanis becomes mayor.
• 1991
  • January: The Barricades.
  • 6 September: USSR recognizes Latvian independence.[2]
  • St. Peter's Church rebuilt.
  • Riga Marathon begins.
• 1992
  • Banking College founded.
  • New Riga Theatre opens.
  • Latvian Institute of International Affairs headquartered in city.[32]
• 1993
  • 8 September: Pope John Paul II visits Riga and celebrates mass at St. James's Cathedral and in Mežaparks.
  • Museum of the Occupation of Latvia and Latvian Museum of Photography inaugurated.
  • School of Business Administration Turiba founded.
  • Rīgas Laiks magazine and Vakara Ziņas newspaper begin publication.[27]
• 1994
  • Maris Purgailis becomes mayor.
  • Latvian Museum of Architecture and Latvian Railway History Museum established.
  • Stockholm School of Economics in Riga campus established.
• 1995 – Latvian National Opera house renovated.
• 1996 – Skonto Arena opens.
• 1997 – Andris Berzins becomes mayor.
• 1998 – Riga Graduate School of Law established.
• 1999
  • Riga Aviation University founded.
  • City hosts 1999 European Athletics Junior Championships.
  • House of the Blackheads rebuilt.
• 2000
  • Andris Argalis becomes mayor.
  • BK Barons Kvartāls basketball club and Baltic Institute of Social Sciences[32] established.
  • Skonto Stadium opens.
  • International Charter on Authenticity and Historical Reconstruction in Relationship to Cultural Heritage signed in Riga.

• 2001
  • Gundars Bojars becomes mayor.
  • 800th anniversary of founding of Riga.
  • Riga Porcelain Museum and Kino Citadele open.[33]
  • Bikernieki Memorial unveiled.
• 2002 – Providus Centre for Public Policy established.[32]
• 2003
  • Rigas Satiksme founded.
  • City hosts Eurovision Song Contest 2003.
  • Population: 739,232.[27]
• 2004
  • 1 May: Latvia joins the European Union.
  • Saules akmens (hi-rise) built.
• 2005
  • 2 February: Railway accident.
  • 12 March: Latvian local elections, 2005 held.
  • Aivars Aksenoks becomes mayor.
  • Latvian National Museum of Art[11] and JFK Olimps football club established.
  • Riga Salsa Festival begins.
• 2006
  • Riga Planning Region and FK Jauniba Riga football club established.
  • City hosts NATO summit.
  • Arena Riga opens.
  • City hosts 2006 IIHF World Championship.
• 2007 – Janis Birks becomes mayor.
• 2008 – Southern Bridge opens.
• 2009
  • 13 January: Riot.[23]
  • Nils Usakovs becomes mayor.
  • Pushkin Statue erected.
• 2010
  • Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communications headquartered in Riga.
  • Population: 703,260.[34]
• 2013
  • 20 June: Castle fire.
  • 21 November: Supermarket roof collapse.[23]
• 2014 – National Library of Latvia new building constructed.
• 2015 – Zunda Towers built.
• 2021 – Hostel fire.
• 2022 – Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders demolished.

• History of Riga
• Mayors of Riga

This article incorporates information from the Latvian Wikipedia, Polish Wikipedia, and Russian Wikipedia.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to History of Riga.

• "Riga History". In Your Pocket Ltd.
• Map of Ryga region, ca.1700s
• Europeana. Items related to Riga, various dates.

56.948889°N 24.106389°E / 56.948889; 24.106389