Riga Hill
The Riga Hill is one of the six hills in Līgatne that have been constructed upon. It takes its name from a road connecting Riga and the ancient Cēsis, historically known as ‘Wenden’, in the 12th century.
After the construction of wooden residential houses on the Riga Hill in the late 19th century, three cellar passages, locally called ‘gaņģi’, were carved in the hill cliffs: the large one, 35.2 metres long with 23 cellars; the medium one, 26.4 metres long with 15 cellars; and the small one, 9 metres long with 7 cellars. Interestingly, the number of cellars in each passage corresponded to the number of apartments in each house. The construction of cellars was organised by the young and talented engineer Eugen Irmer, after whom the footbridge leading across the ravine near these caves was named. As you cross this bridge leading to the ‘Anfabrik’ cliff, you will come across a natural cave with a depth of 11 metres on one side of the Riga Hill between artificially carved sandstone caves. It is one of the two natural caves in the surroundings of Līgatne. The other cave, on the other hand, can be spotted while boating on the Gauja River near the Spriņģi cliff.
From the Riga Hill, one can enjoy a stunning view of the Līgatne town, which is set upon six hills. These include the Riga Hill, followed by the Spriņģi Hill which is the only hill in Līgatne with a residential area on it, the School Hill with the old school building and a wooden residential house, the Pluči Hill with the Līgatne Secondary School and two wooden residential houses, the ‘Ķiberkalns’ hill with the former factory stables and barns, now home to the ‘Zeit’ creative district, and the ‘Remdenkalns’ hill with the largest number of historic workers’ houses. The road runs directly along the top of the hill, with valleys on either side: the paper mill to the right and allotments to the left.
Līgatne has a tradition of celebrating hill festivals in the summer, with the festivities held on a different hill each year. The very first festival was held on the Riga Hill in 2014, during Riga’s tenure as the European Capital of Culture. Riga encouraged all Latvian cities and towns with a street containing the name ‘Riga’, namely, Rīgas iela, to join the celebration. Given that there is not only a Rīgas iela but also a Riga Hill in Līgatne, the celebration was particularly splendid.
