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The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Riga, Latvia.
- 1158 CE – Area settled by Bremen merchants.[1]
- 1190 – Augustinian monastery established.[1]
- 1201 – Town built by Catholic bishop Albert.[2]
- 1202
- 1209 – St. Peter's Church active.[citation needed]
- 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).[citation needed]
- 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.[citation needed]
- 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).[citation needed]
- 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.[citation needed]
- 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.[citation needed]
- 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.[citation needed]
- 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 occupation.
- 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
- 1946 – Dinamo Riga ice hockey team formed.
- 1949
- March 25–28: 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.
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