The City of Riga developed on the right bank of the Daugava River about 15 km from the Baltic Sea. The natural border on the south and east was the River Riga, the tributary of the Daugava, that widening formed Riga Lake, a convenient place for a harbour.

 Historical Centre

In the territory of the present historical centre as early as the 12^th century there were villages of the local inhabitants: one at the so-called Riga Lake, the other at the inflow of the Riga into the Daugava.

After the Bishop's seat was moved to Riga in 1201, the first German settlers built their dwellings in the vicinity, surrounding their settlement with a rampart and wooden fence of pales - palisade. Already in 1207 a stone wall was built, later to be extended as far as the Daugava bank. The wall enclosed the villages of the local inhabitants and since 1234 it embraced also the inhabited northern area. Thus, the ultimately 2.2 km long defensive stone wall marked off 28 ha of the city territory.

In the 15^th-16^th centuries a defensive rampart was built on the southern side of the city, the territory of which inside the rampart grew to 35 ha. The number of inhabitants in 1558 reached 12,000. The size of the city remained unchanged up to the demolition of the fortification system. With 14,337 people inhabiting the rampart-enclosed city in 1844, the prospect of further growth was exhausted.

Riga around 1840

Source:  "The Art Nouveau Architecture of Riga", Exhibition catalogue, Riga, 1998

 The Rural Area of the Riga City

The early formation of the rural area of Riga is not reflected in historical sources. The issue of the territory in which the city enjoyed special rights was treated in the document signed on March 15, 1226 confirming the boundaries of the rural area of Riga.

Maximum exploitation of the rural area for the benefit of the city was inconvenienced by the fact that the territory was interspersed with the lands of the Dom Chapter, the Order and several monasteries. The city consolidated its proprietary rights to land by buying it out in most cases, especially during the first years of the Livonian war when the Order experienced grave money difficulties and sold off its lands to Riga. Certain territories were also granted to the city by the Swedish kings.

In the course of several centuries the rural area of the Riga City developed from a thinly populated territory into an unevenly inhabited one, especially densely populated on the approaches to the city, thus securing the growth of the city suburbs.

 Suburbs

Certain more densely populated places outside the Riga rampart have been mentioned in records as early as the 14^th century. Since the 17^th century the rapid development of the suburbs highlighted the basic tendencies of their growth around the significant traffic routes.

In 1626 the Swedes marked the suburbs off with palisades, thus including them in a united defence system. The territory, surrounded with ramparts and palisades, covered 226 ha. In 1772 a vacant zone - esplanade - was formed in front of the rampart, and the palisade fencing was transferred behind the esplanade. In 1784 the total territory of Riga and the suburbs on the right bank within the palisades reached already 440 ha. People continued to settle in the vicinity of the city outside the palisades, and the fencing which had lost its function was removed in 1808. Within two centuries the suburbs had considerably outgrown the inner city.

Pardaugava, the suburban area on the left bank, developed slower and in the 18^th  century consisted of separate densely populated places, that could not yet be considered a fully formed suburb.

 Administrative Division and City Borders

Up to the 1780s the administrative boundaries of the city practically coincided with its outer defence line of palisades. The year 1787 brought changes when Russia's police regulations were applied to Riga whereby the city and its suburbs were divided into districts and blocks, thus outlining the boundaries of the area subject to the city police operations (3,300 ha). These boundaries can be considered the forerunners of Riga's administrative boundaries.

In 1828 the boundaries of the city territory, i. e. the city police precinct, were officially marked, setting the city (5,200 ha) apart from the rural territory that fell under the supervision of the rural police.

 City Without Ramparts

In mid-19^th century the rampart-surrounded city was tiny in comparison with the suburbs. The rampart system was military outdated, that is why the eastern ramparts were levelled off in 1857-1863, and the historical centre of the city merged with the suburbs. Riga grew into a metropolis. The number of its inhabitants increased from 61,800 in 1857 to 517,000 in 1913.

However, the territory of the city was not compact and its boundaries had not been fixed. In 1877, when Russia's law on cities was enforced, certain territories of the rural area fell under Riga administration, practically removing the boundaries of 1828 between the city and its rural area. The boundary issue grew even more complicated in1888 when part of the rural area which was more densely built and was not the property of landed estates was brought under the supervision of the Riga City police. Thus, in the early 20^th century the borders of the city juridically still marked off 5,200 ha while in reality the administration of the city supervised a territory of 9,014 ha.

 Territory of Riga and Its Landed Property during the period of the Republic of Latvia (1918-1940)

The law "The Administrative Boundaries of the Riga City", adopted by the Saeima (Latvian Parliament) on February 24, 1924 legally confirmed the new boundaries that had been formed over nearly 100 years. Extensive territories on both banks of Daugava now were a part of the city, the territory of R iga covered 20,580 ha and in 1939 it reached 21,078 ha.

When the State of Latvia was established Riga owned vast landed property (86,438 ha) that had been acquired over the previous centuries. Outside the city administrative boundaries there lay 82,768 ha of this territory, while only 3,670 ha were within the city borders.

As a result of the agrarian reform of the Government of the Republic of Latvia the situation with the city lands slightly changed. In 1938 the territory within the administrative boundaries was 6,800 ha, outside - 78,130 ha. The total nationalization in 1940 did away with all of the city property.

 Changes in the Administrative Division of the Territory of Riga after the Loss of Independence (1940-1991)

Upon its occupation Riga was mechanically divided into six territorial administrative regions according to the system existing in the Soviet Union. Although the German occupation power abolished this division, it was re-established after the Red Army took over in 1944.

In the post-war period boundaries of regions, their number and names have changed several times. The present administrative system of Riga was effectuated in 1969; the names of the regions were confirmed on December 28, 1990 at the time of the national Awakening.

In the post-war period the administrative boundaries of Riga have been extended a number of times; the last was in 1976. As a result territory of the city increased to 30,716 ha and did not change up to the last year of the 20^th century.

What will Riga, the capital of the Republic of Latvia, be like on the threshold of the next millenium?

The City Development Plan for 1995-2005, confirmed by the Riga City Council (Dome), outlines Riga as a healthy and benevolent city, well-balanced, rich in historical and cultural landmarks, animated and prosperous, harmonious  and beautiful, breathing Latvian spirit and united with the neighbours.