The Swedish Gate ( lv, Zviedru vārti) is situated 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 ...

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 ...

, and was erected 1698 as a part of the Riga Wall to provide access to barracks outside the city wall. These gates are the only remaining gates from the former eight. They are located on Torņa street 11 (Torņa iela 11).

Kurt Wallander Kurt Wallander () is a fictional Swedish police inspector created by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell (1948 – 2015). He is the protagonist of many thriller/mystery novels set in and around the town of Ystad, south-east of the city of Malm ...

visits the site in the novel Dogs of Riga.

Legends

Rendezvous

One of the legends about this structure tells about the origins of the name of the gates, which goes as following: it has been told that young ladies were forbidden to date soldiers, but one romantic relationship between a girl and a Swedish soldier did develop. And so that happened that these gates were their meeting spot. Once, the young man did not arrive at the usual place, and the locals, knowing that the girl has been involved in this prohibited affinity, took her and built her into the wall of the gates. Since then, the rumor goes that in the midnight her cries can be heard by those whose love is pure and unconditional: "I still ''do'' love him..!"

References

Buildings and structures completed in 1698 Buildings and structures in Riga Swedish Gate 1698 establishments in Sweden {{Latvia-struct-stub