Mīlgrāvis

Mīlgrāvis received its name from mills set up in Bishop Albert’s time, which were built by the monks of the Old Riga Monastery. They also dug out the Mīlgrāvis (“mill ditch”), because sea winds flooded the surroundings, and hence the water needed to be channelled away. At present Mīlgrāvis is a deep and wide enough stretch of water for navigation, and connects the Daugava with Ķīšezers and through further channels also with Jugla Lake, Baltezers, Small Baltezers and even with the Gauja River.

In 1205, there was already a cloister here, which also served as a fortress. In 1305, the cloister was replaced with the Castle of the Order, which in 1481 was destroyed by Riga’s inhabitants.
The White Church is situated in the centre of Vecmīlgrāvis. The Mangaļu Naval School was opened nearby in 1876 thanks to Kr. Valdemārs' efforts. The name of Augusts Dombrovskis, a remarkable entrepreneur and philanthropist, is also connected with Vecmīlgrāvis. In 1888 he founded sawmills here, and a district of houses for working-class families was formed.

Dombrovskis was concerned about education, and in 1900 he built the “Green School”, later adding a kindergarten to it. A society of mutual fellowship was opened in 1902, followed by Dombrovskis’ non-alcoholic fellowship house – “Ziemeļblāzma” (1904). It was set afire during a punitive expedition in 1906, but in 1913 it was restored according to Dombroskis’ designs. Today it is a cultural centre for Mīlgrāvis. Burtnieku House was constructed for writers and artists in 1907.
Jaunmīlgrāvis became a densely populated district in the 1970s. An outer port was formed here because the Daugava was deeper in this area and free of ice for longer periods of time. In 1872 a railway connected Mīlgrāvis and Riga. By 1879 18 warehouses had been built that could store 1.5 million poods of grain. But thanks to the development of excavation and ice-breaking methods, in 1890 the shipping channels were deepened to the Daugava as far as inner Riga. Therefore Jaunmīlgrāvis lost its importance as an outer port. However, some factories were constructed here: Harlingen’s super phosphate factory (1892) and Jensen’ s porcelain factory (1875).

In present day Mīlgrāvis, everything is connected either to navigation or fishing. Factories for repairing ships, cold storage, and trawler fleets are situated here.