Mežaparks (german: Kaiserwald) is a neighbourhood of Northern District in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, the capital of

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. It consists of a residential area to the South and a large

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

to the North of the same name –

Mežaparks Mežaparks (german: Kaiserwald) is a neighbourhood of Northern District in Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The ...

. The neighbourhood is located on the western shore of Lake Ķīšezers. The name is literally translated as "forest park". The neighbourhood and park were built in the early 20th century and the area was originally called . It was one of the world's first garden cities.Mežaparks in Riga – One of the First Garden Cities in Europe
/ref> It had large number of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

and

Eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

villas for upper class inhabitants of Riga. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Kaiserwald concentration camp Kaiserwald (Ķeizarmežs) was a Nazi concentration camp near the Riga suburb of Mežaparks in modern-day Latvia. Kaiserwald was built in March 1943, during the period that the German army occupied Latvia. The first inmates of the camp were seve ...

was located in this park, and many

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, Gypsies, Communists, and other opponents of Nazi rule were murdered in these woods. Today it is still one of the wealthier areas of Riga, the

Mežaparks Great Bandstand The Mežaparks Great Bandstand (), also called the Song Festival Bandstand, Open-Air Stage (), is a large open-air bandstand in Mežaparks park in the Mežaparks neighbourhood of Riga, the capital of Latvia. The bandstand has added cultural ...

hosts the Latvian Song and Dance Festival in early July every five years. Mežaparks is also host to the

Riga Zoo Riga Zoo is a city-owned zoo in Riga, Latvia. It is located in Mežaparks neighbourhood next to the Mežaparks park, on the western bank of Ķīšezers lake. Riga Zoo houses around 4000 animals of nearly 500 species and is visited by 250–30 ...

and its lakeside locale allows for various water sporting activities. There is also an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

in Mežaparks, which makes the neighborhood a popular summer destination for Riga residents.

Park

There is a large

on the North side of the neighbourhood. The park is where the open-air

and

are located, as well as access to Ķīšezers lake. The territory is covered with coastal dunes, much of it with

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...

s, both protected conserved

biotope A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term "habitat", which is more commonly used in English-speaking countrie ...

s. The territory began to be used for recreation in 18th century and was added to Riga's territory in 19th century. In 1901, the Mežaparks neighbourhood became

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

's first architectural project to use the garden city movement. The area was expanded and developed during the first half of 20th century, primarily serving as an elite sports complex. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1949, the Soviet Government carried out a major expansion of the park and inaugurated it as a public park with many recreational areas and buildings. Up until the end of 20th century, the park continued to serve as a public park. Although little of the Soviet architecture survives, the park has seen a resurgence after restoration of Latvia's independence and is currently a popular recreational location. The park along the neighbourhood is a national heritage site and architectural cultural monument.

Gallery

File:Mezaparks.jpg File:Межапарк2.JPG File:11.tramvajs Mežaparkā.JPG, Trams in Mežaparks File:Ķeizarmežs.jpg, Mežaparks in the beginning of 20th century

References

External links

*
Mežaparks: The Garden Suburb

Neighbourhoods in Riga Holocaust locations in Latvia Garden suburbs {{Riga-stub