The Railway Bridge () is a bridge that crosses the

Daugava The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...

river in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, the capital of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. The first iron railway bridge in Riga, over 600 ftm long, was erected in 1871–1872 for the

Riga–Jelgava Railway The Riga–Jelgava Railway is a long, gauge railway built in the 19th century to connect the cities of Riga and Jelgava. In 1872, an extension was built from Jelgava to Mažeikiai Mažeikiai (; Samogitian: ''Mažeikē''; ; ) is a city in n ...

. The new bridge was inaugurated 1914, shelled twice, during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1917 and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1944, and was rebuilt both times. The bridge is nowadays the only railway bridge in Riga. The bridge will be duplicated as part of the new

Rail Baltica Rail Baltica is an under-construction rail infrastructure project that is intended to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network. Its purpose is to provide passenger and freight service between participating countries and improve ra ...

line through Riga.

Gallery

File:Riga old iron bridge.jpg, Iron Bridge, erected 1871-1872 File:Riga railway bridge inauguration.jpg, Inauguration of first bridge in 1914 File:German troops crossing Daugava.jpg, German troops crossing the shelled bridge 1917 File:Vistas desde la iglesia de San Pedro, Riga, Letonia, 2012-08-07, DD 01.JPG, Bridge today, pylons from former Iron Bridge still visible

References

Bridges in Riga Crossings of the Daugava River Railway bridges in Latvia Bridges completed in 1955 {{Latvia-bridge-struct-stub