In recent years I’ve made a habit, in each new city I visit, to find a tall building to look down from, even though it often gives me a case of ‘jelly legs,’ especially if its an open platform.
In Riga, last summer, I found there was a choice of viewpoints: Panorama Riga on the Soviet-era Academy of Sciences building, seen just below; the Riga Radio and TV Tower, just below that and the tallest building in the EU, and finally, the tower of the massive St Peter’s Church, newly equipped with an elevator.
Since my Airbnb apartment was right across a small plaza from St Peter’s, the choice was easy; it was convenient enough for me to go back on one of the evenings the tower was open for another series of shots. The image below, looking down at the roof, is all you get of St Peter’s exterior here, but there’ll be more in another story later. Below it, some of its near neighbors, looking straight down.
One of the most sights that quickly draws attention is the unusual form of the Latvian National Library, shaped like a wave on the opposite bank of the river.
Turning in another direction, another unusual architectural form: the huge Riga Central Market, housed in a series of pavilions whose construction re-used elements of World War I-era Zeppelin hangars along the river.
Riga has many churches; they show up all over the images, representing different denominations, including an Anglican church. Among the most impressive and easily recognized is the Riga Cathedral, with its tower and clock, below and in the title image.
The elaborate Orthodox cathedral is another scene-grabber. St John and St Jacob both sport pointed green towers.
Most of Riga’s walls and defenses were torn down in the 19th century and the castle moat became a city park, but the 1330s Powder Tower remains, and now houses part of the Latvian War Museum.
A few more looking-outward views of the compact city. Since the tower is in the medieval core, most of the close-in sights are old or rebuilt old, but across the river and in a few spots nearby there are more modern structures.
Not really a view of Riga, but these clouds were passing by during my time on the observation deck…
Inside St Peters, a view from the main part of the nave, another from the mezzanine that houses the elevator entrance, and finally, the ancient weathercock that once topped the church’s steeple.
