Pārdaugava (Left Bank of the Daugava)

Pārdaugava historically developed separately from Riga because the river divides it from the centre. As early as 1226 the so-called patrimonial region, or field territory, which occupied 750 square kilometres on both banks of the Daugava, belonged to the city of Riga. The mills belonging to Riga’s St. Mary’s Church were located here from the 13th century. Riga bought these mills in 1573. All that remains of the mills is one pond. The name of this pond, Mara’s pond, is reminiscent of its old relations to St. Mary’s Church. Arkādijas Park, one of the city’s most beautiful parks, was built not far from the pond.

In the beginning, the Daugava itself was a secure enough defensive barrier, and so only at the end of the 16th century was construction started on several defensive buildings on the left bank of the Daugava. One such structure was an observation tower built of red bricks, which gave its name to Torņakalns (Tower Hill). In 1821 a dam was built across from Riga, and a substantial fortification was erected, Kobronskanste. Dramatic battles took place here: the so-called Short Northern War, when the Russian army under Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich surrounded Riga in 1656 but failed to occupy it, and the Northern War Cotton Grass Battle of 1701, when the Swedish king Charles XIII overpowered Russian and Polish forces and for nine months delayed Riga’s falling into Russian hands.

Military actions and separation by the Daugava explain the relatively late start of construction on the Daugava’s left bank. Around the beginning of the 18th century only several farmsteads could be found in the present regions of Torņakalns, Āgenskalns and Iļguciems. Inns began being built along the roads to Bauska, Jelgava and Daugavgrīva only in the middle of the 18th century. In 1786 administrative borders were established for Pārdaugava as a suburb of Riga. Several enterprises were founded there –sawmills, paper mills and a tobacco manufacturing plant. At the beginning of the 18th century the wealthier citizens of Riga began building little summer estates in Pārdaugava. Unfortunately, in 1812 when Napoleon’s army was approaching, these suburbs were put to fire, and many beautiful summer homes were destroyed. Only after the Iron Bridge (1871) and the Pontoon Bridge (1896) were built did Pārdaugava officially become part of Riga proper. The Soviet micro-district named “Āgenskalna Priedes” (Āgenskalns Pines), a housing estate of 5-story buildings, was constructed here in the 1960s. Districts of large residential blocks such as Imanta, Zolitūde, and Ziepniekkalns were constructed farther from the Daugava later. Still, even today Pārdaugava is a place apart. A lot of wooden architecture from the 19th and 20th centuries has been preserved in its central part, and this together with a lot of greenery produce the charm of a provincial town near the centre of a capital city.