Riga: Europe’s new cultural capital

The buildings in Riga’s Old City look like dollhouses. The streets are narrow and cobbled, and the iron church steeple of St Peter’s is visible at almost every turn, its light a consecrated guidepost. Riga is one of those cities that look like a Christmas card all year round. It feels intimate in the way only a medieval city can; sometimes streets are a mere two metres wide, forcing human proximity. It has been a cult tourist destination for some years, but has remained shielded from the crowds, tucked away in Latvia and removed from the European backpacking trail. But Riga has now been chosen as the European Capital of Culture, in 2014, the same year that it joins the euro, and so is about to become the next must-visit destination.

Because of its rich and diverse tradition, Riga survives as an old cultural capital

Riga sits on the mouth of the mighty Daugava River, where it meets the Gulf of Riga on the Baltic. Because of its strategic position linking Scandinavia to the rest of Europe, Riga has always been a hub for trade, commerce and multiculturalism. It was once a Viking stronghold, and a central point of their navigation routes, before the arrival of German settlers and Catholic monasteries in the twelfth century. It is a small but bustling city, with just under 700,000 inhabitants, but it prides itself in being the industrial, commercial, cultural and financial centre of the Baltics.

Riga is emerging as hot property in the European tourism market. An economic crisis in 2008 made Latvia extremely affordable for foreign visitors, and tourism emerged as a reliable revenue-booster for the country. Latvia grew 50 percent between 2004 and 2007, partly because it remains a heavily industrialised country and partly because it made a rapid move towards embracing the free market after independence in 1991, when the country earned its moniker: ‘The Baltic Tiger’.

Crash comeback
But 2008 and the global economic downturn hit the country particularly hard, with GDP contracting 10.5 percent that year. The country required a bailout from the IMF, and in 2009 earned the unwelcome accolade of having the highest unemployment in the EU. In just two years, however, Latvia had regained control of its economy and finances and got unemployment back under control.

“Those who change will endure,” said Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, at the opening of a 2012 IMF conference in Riga. “You have pulled through. You have returned to strong growth. You have lowered budget deficits and kept government debt ratios to some of the lowest in the EU. You have become more competitive in world markets through wage and price cuts. You have restored confidence and brought down interest rates through good macroeconomic policies. We are here today to celebrate your achievements. If we want to single out one factor for Latvia, it would be the impressive determination.”

Because of its rich and diverse tradition, Riga survives as an old cultural capital. The birthplace of art nouveau, and Baltic wooden architecture, the historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and tourism is increasing at an astounding rate. In 2010, as the rest of Europe was floundering in recession and economic turmoil, Riga attracted 1.3 million tourists to its streets, an increase of 18 percent from the previous year, and only 30 percent of those were domestic visitors.

“Our biggest tourist groups – Germans, Scandinavians and Russians – make up about 12-14 percent of the total each,” Gastons Neimanis, director of the Riga Tourism Development Office told bestriga.com. “We don’t have such a large group of tourists coming from any single country as our neighbours do. More than 50 percent of all tourists in Tallinn are from Finland. That means we have to work with each country individually.”

An ever more diverse selection of guests are expected this year as Riga fulfils its duties as the European Capital of Culture. The initiative, launched in 1985 by the European Commission, aims to highlight the “richness and diversity of European cultures”. Riga fits the bill perfectly; it is well equipped to receive masses of visitors and boasts well-funded cultural apparatus. A report assigned by the European Commission suggested the Capitals of Culture initiative was rated the “most beneficial cultural events for cities in terms of development”, with the events that accompany the title boosting numbers of incoming visitors by up to 12 percent. For Riga, this will be a unique opportunity to capitalise on the city’s rich architecture and history, so often overlooked by tourists in lieu of more showy European capitals.

The increase in tourism and accolade of Capital of Culture are deeply significant of Latvia’s economic and cultural rebirth after full independence was restored just over twenty years ago

Rich heritage
Winning European Capital of Culture is also a wonderful economic opportunity for Latvia, as events are designed to raise the profile of the city as a viable business centre. It is significant that Riga was selected to receive the honour in 2014, a year in which many European countries will host events commemorating the centenary of the start of World War I. The Great War and subsequent Treaty of Brest-Litovsk were two of the most significant events in modern Latvian history and led to the country, along with its Baltic neighbours, finally making a move for independence from the Russian Empire. Though it was short-lived, as Latvia was soon occupied by the Soviet Union, it was the first step on the path to liberation.

Though Latvia and Riga in particular hardly feature in the dialogue about the interwar period and World War II, it is a huge part of modern Latvian culture. The multicultural nature of Riga’s population meant that during both World Wars and subsequent annexation to the USSR, the city was a constant target for attack, something that has left deep emotional scars on the native population. The increase in tourism and accolade of Capital of Culture are deeply significant of Latvia’s economic and cultural rebirth after full independence was restored just over twenty years ago.

However, though Riga has been steadily rising through the ranks of most-visited capitals in Europe since 1991, the arrival of budget airlines in the last decade was the final push the city needed to become a top destination. Along with Prague, Tallinn, Budapest and Warsaw, Riga benefited from the intersection of low living costs and cheap transport. According to Yahoo Travel, Riga has topped the list of cheapest weekend city breaks for British tourists since 2010. Flights and accommodation in Riga cost around a third of that in Stockholm, another city that has benefitted from the emergence of low-cost airlines.

And visitors get plenty for their money in Riga. The city’s fascinating architecture mixes medieval and art nouveau as well as an amalgamation of nineteenth-century wooden buildings, giving the city a unique look. And every nook and cranny of the cobbled streets is packed with history. Throughout the ages, philosophers, musicians and artists have come to Riga seeking a home or a refuge. And the city has received them all with open arms; Immanuel Kant, Richard Wagner and Sergey Eisenstein all lived here and were inspired by the city’s rich heritage.

Cultural investment
Around 40 percent of the buildings in central Riga and around the old town have an art nouveau influence – the largest collection in the world. During the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, when art nouveau was at its most popular, Riga was experiencing a demographic and economic boom as it emerged as the largest port in the Russian Empire. Around that time, the Latvian National Opera, and a number of other opulent theatres and museums sprung up around the city, and have since become notable tourist attractions.

Riga is a city that blossoms in the winter, but is warm and inviting in summer too. It is deeply culturally engaging, with new concerts, operas, ballets, and exhibitions debuting almost every day. This year, Capital of Culture events will peak in August to cash in on the higher influx of tourists to the city. Highlights will include the Riga Opera Festival that runs through the summer. Along with cultural events, Riga will be hosting a variety of markets and trade fairs. Boosting trade and revenue and raising the business profile of a city are one the main aims. Riga will be spending just over €44m on the city’s investment programme in 2014, plus a further €80m on public transport, much of which will be used to boost resources for the events.

Latvia has rebuilt itself twice in the last two decades; first as it adapted to the demands of the free market and then when, after years of herculean growth, the economy crashed in the European Crisis. Not that any of that is apparent in the well-preserved streets of the capital. Riga has withstood the test of time, and managed to hold on to its charm and character even while so many other former Soviet capitals succumbed to the industrialisation of their streets. Its medieval alleys are a testament to its rich heritage, and proof that Riga has been a European Capital of Culture for centuries before the European Commission decided to grace it with the title.