Riga Zoo: address, reviews. In and around Riga

The capital of Latvia Riga is second only to St. Petersburg and Stockholm in size. The population of this Baltic city is slightly more than 700 thousand people. The history of the metropolis exceeds 800 years. It is embodied in numerous monuments, songs, stories, legends and sights. It is about the sights of Riga, historical and modern, we today and talk. Riga Zoo is the most famous and one of the most interesting sights of the Latvian capital. It is the oldest animal park in Northern Europe. It is located on the shore of Lake Kish and every year it receives several hundred thousand small and adult tourists.

The history of the zoo

The Riga Zoo was founded a little earlier than indicated in official sources. The public at the beginning of the summer of 1907 sent a petition to the city government asking that a part of the forest on the shore of Lake Kishezers be rented. This was the beginning of the creation of the zoo. The donations of this same society and was further development of the menagerie.

The first animals in the Riga zoo were imported in November 1911. They were four bears. A formal institution was opened only in mid-October 1912. By this time on its territory were equipped with tracks and some structures. The main entrance to the zoo and a few more buildings still look like they were during the opening.

In the winter of 1913 the first exotic animals were introduced to the zoo: pelicans, monkeys, Malay bear and turtles. Before the First World War the collection of the institution consisted of such animals as bison, elephants, tropical animals and animals imported from the Far North. The first, and then the Second World War left their imprint on the functioning of the park. But gradually he resumed his work: reconstructive measures were carried out, the number of his four-witted inhabitants was replenished. Today the zoological park is experiencing a stage of recovery.

Riga Zoological Garden today

Now the Riga zoo is the standard of careful human treatment of animals. They live in huge enclosures under the pines and are almost left to themselves. Aviaries are called "houses". Visitors between the streets walk along the paved paths. On each path are pointers and small sculptures-installations, telling about who lives in what aviary.

The Riga Zoo (address: Meza prospects 1, LV-1014) welcomes visitors to the "House of Flamingos", in which, in addition to the pink graceful birds, live pelicans, herons and ostriches. There is also an aquarium in the zoo, an aviary with kangaroos and meerkats, a rural yard, a tropical house, rare European animals and many other aviaries with a wide variety of animals.

In the zoo of Riga you can stay all day and at the same time not only to admire our friends a little, but also to have lunch and rest.

We go to the zoological garden

The first line of an electric tram in Riga was laid exactly in the Riga zoo. How to get there, today knows every local resident. In order to get to the convent of animals, it is necessary to take the tram No. 11 or bus number 48. The trip will last about half an hour. You need to leave at a stop, which is called the "Riga Zoo". The cost of tickets to the institution starts from four euros. An hour before the closure of the zoo at the ticket office, they are no longer selling.

There is a zoo every day from ten in the morning until seven in the evening. But if you came to Riga on the day of the holiday, then it should be taken into account that in this period the institution is open only up to three hours.

Reviews about the zoo

The Riga Zoo reviews from the people who have visited it receive only the best. Visitors positively respond to the very territory of the zoo, which is huge and compact at the same time, and about aviaries with animals, and the four-legged inhabitants themselves. Beasts are well-groomed, well-fed, workers are friendly and smiling. Such a situation can not help but please.

Some of the travelers visited the institution more than once and always discovered something new, something that they did not pay attention to before. The zoo in Riga is liked by everyone who has visited it at least once.

Other attractions

It should be noted that here, in addition to the magnificent zoo, there are many more sights to which you should pay attention. Riga is a city whose attractions deserve attention. This is the historical center of Europe, and therefore there is something to see. So, it is recommended to visit the Dome Cathedral - the cathedral church, which is a significant architectural object of the whole of Latvia. It began to be built in the 13th century, and construction activities lasted several centuries.

More than one generation of architects and architects worked on the creation of the object. And they completed the work only in the XVIII century. Originally, the building of the cathedral was intended to be laconic and discreet, close to the Romanesque style. But between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the volume of the cult structure was enlarged, chapels and naves were added to it, and a gothic octagonal spire was also built.

Later, some changes were made to the architecture of the cathedral. Today the temple is admired not only for its greatness. It has a unique German organ 25 meters high. The instrument has almost 25 thousand pipes and is considered the largest in the Baltic States.

What else to see

Riga is a city whose sights are worth seeing at least once in a lifetime. It is known for another historical object - the Swedish gate, which appeared here as an alternative to the main entrance to the settlement. In the XVII century, fortified walls were actively built up. In order not to go around for a long time and not pay taxes for the transportation of goods, some savvy residents made passages in the walls. There were eight of them, but only such gates have survived to this day.

There is also a modern "sweet" attraction in the capital of Latvia - the Kanela Konditoreja cafe. There is an institution in the center of the metropolis. Here you can calmly drink coffee with friends or alone to think and collect your thoughts over a cup of tea with a cake. A café is located in the historical architectural complex of Berg Bazars, which at the beginning of the last century was one of the centers of commercial and cultural activity of the settlement.