Bright spot in the Baltic

In the historic heart of Riga, Latvia’s lively capital, stands a monument which sums up this country’s stormy past. The Freedom Monument was built in 1935 to commemorate the war of independence in which patriotic Latvians fought off the Germans and the Russians to finally establish Latvia as a sovereign state. That first bout of independence lasted barely 20 years. In 1940 the Soviets marched in, then in 1941 the Nazis marched in and kicked them out, and in 1944 the Soviets marched back in again and stayed until 1991.

Yet despite being earmarked for demolition, the Freedom Monument survived. In the 1980s it became the focus for protests against Soviet persecution of Latvian dissidents. Today it’s the centre point of Eastern Europe’s most dynamic metropolis: a bustling business hub, and a cultural mecca too.

During the 1990s and the 2000s, Riga had another invasion to contend with: British stag parties lured here by cheap beer and budget flights. Thankfully, most of those boozy Brits have been repelled by Latvia’s entry into the eurozone, and the city centre is more sedate. Riga is still an affordable weekend destination, but there are cheaper places to go if you just want to get drunk. Instead, this ancient port is rediscovering its Hanseatic heritage. Founded by the Teutonic knights and colonised by Russians, Swedes and Poles, Riga is a city built on trade. Even half a century of Communism couldn’t eradicate its mercantile, creative nous.

Riga’s medieval Old Town reveals its Germanic roots. Among its gingerbread houses and robust brick churches, you could be in Bremen or Lübeck. Yet beyond the Teutonic Altstadt, the Russian influence is more overt: the weathered wooden villas of the Tsarist era; the gleaming onion domes of the Orthodox churches.