The name of Riga is known across Europe. When in the 14th and 15th centuries Riga became one of the most important trade centers of the Hanseatic League, thecity was granted special rights to transport goods along the Daugava further to the East. |
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Liberty Monument in 1949. During Russian occupation there were plans to take it down. In 1944 when Red Army occupied Riga, a military aircraft was sent to destroy the monument - the symbol of Latvian independence. The Russian pilot (obviously, not from Riga) missed and dropped the bomb on Hotel De Rome which is next to the monument. This is why you can see a small square in the foreground of the picture (the place of the Hotel).
