Zaķusala (

Hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...

Island) is one of several islands in the

Daugava River 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 ...

in the central part of

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 ...

. A part of the city's

Salas Salas (Hebrew: סלאס), from Spanish ‘salas’ (rooms, halls), is a Spanish surname of Germanic and Jewish origin, and a common family name in the Spanish-speaking world. It is ranked amongst the List of most common surnames in North America, ...

neighbourhood, Zaķusala is home to the Riga Radio and TV Tower, which was completed in 1986 and the Latvian Television building, also completed the same year. The tower is the tallest structure in the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

. On the northern tip of the island, alongside the railway trestles are remnants of the Iron Bridge that was blown up during the

Second World War 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 maps of the city of Riga in the start of the 20th century, the island is usually referred by the name "Hasenholm". This name is also used in the story of Amfian Gerasimov, a

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

that saved a Jewish family that live on this island

Gallery

File:Latvijas Televīzijas ēka 06 2005.jpg, Latvian Television building File:Zaķusala fom Riga tower.jpg, View of the island from the TV Tower File:RigaZakusalasKrastmala(2).jpg, Along Zaķusalas krastmala (Zaķusala Embankment) File:Zakjusalas ziemelju gals.jpg, Northern tip of the island with artificial ''

Sterna ''Sterna'' is a genus of terns in the bird family Laridae. The genus used to encompass most "white" terns indiscriminately, but mtDNA sequence comparisons have determined that this arrangement was paraphyletic. It is now restricted to the typi ...

'' nesting spot File:Map of Zaķusala, Lita, Latvia, 1914.png, A zoom in on the island of Zaķusala (then Hasenholm) from a Map of Lita, Latvia, 1914.

External links

Engraving
from collection of

Johann Christoph Brotze Johann Christoph Brotze (; 1 September 1742 – 4 August 1823) was a Renaissance humanism era German pedagogue, artist and ethnographer. Biography Brotze was born in Görlitz, Electorate of Saxony, into the family of a salt weigher. As a child, ...

, depicting the 1701 battle of Swedish King Carl XII against Saxons before Riga during the Northern War. The viewer is facing South. Islands in the Daugava are clearly visible. Many of them though have either disappeared or have joined with other islands since then. Modern day Zaķusala is located where there is an island group in the top part of the landscape.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zakusala Islands in Riga