Vecrīga

Vecrīga ("Old Riga") is the historical center and a neighbourhood (as Vecpilsēta) of Riga, Latvia, located in the Central District on the east side of Daugava River. Vecrīga is famous for its old churches and cathedrals, such as Riga Cathedral, St. James's Cathedral and St. Peter's Church.

History
Vecrīga is the original area of Riga and consists of the historic city limits before the city was greatly expanded in the late 19th century. Vecrīga was once protected by a surrounding wall, except the side adjacent to the Daugava river bank. When the wall was demolished, the waters from Daugava were diverted into area of the former wall, creating Riga City Canal.

Heritage
In the early 1990s, Vecrīga's streets were closed to traffic and only residents of the area and the local delivery vehicles were allowed within Vecrīga's limits with special permits. Vecrīga is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site listed as "Historic Centre of Riga", which also includes most of the surrounding Centrs district.

Vecrīga is the oldest part of the Riga, and — even though in its primordial state most of the buildings were made of wood — currently, there are a lot of architectural works remaining from the times of renaissance, baroque and medieval times in the middle of the unique and notable buildings in the style of Art Nouveau, especially the ones created by the locally and internationally well-known architect Mikhail Eisenstein.

Churches

 * Church of St. Peter
 * Dome Cathedral
 * Cathedral of Saint James
 * Church of Saint John
 * Church of Our Lady of Sorrows
 * Anglican Church
 * Reformed Church
 * Church of Mary Magdalene

Museums

 * Military Museum
 * Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation
 * Sports Museum
 * Latvian Museum of Pharmacy
 * Latvian Museum of Photography
 * Riga castle
 * Latvian Museum of National History
 * Art Museum Riga Bourse
 * Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts
 * Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
 * Latvian Museum of Architecture
 * Riga Film Museum
 * Museum of the Popular Front