Latvian photo postcards --Sindelfingen 2007

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. The urban fabric of its medieval centre reflects this prosperity. Despite the fact that most of the earliest buildings were destroyed by fire or war. Riga became an important economic centre in the 19th century, when the suburbs surrounding the medieval town were laid out. With various designes such as wooden buildings in neoclassical style and later on in Jugendstil. Also, one can find various monuments and statues from different periods of history in Riga and its suburbs. It is generally recognized that Riga has the finest collection of art nouveau buildings in Europe.