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At the core of Old Riga (Vecriga) is Cathedral Square (Doma laukums), edged by government offices and a sprinkling of cafes, and dominated by the red-brick Riga Cathedral (Rigas Dome; Tues 11am-6pm, Wed-Fri 1-6pm, Sat 10am-2pm; 0.50Ls), a towering agglomeration of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque architecture. The cathedral was established in 1211 by Albert von Buxhoeveden, the founder of Riga, who became its first bishop. In true Lutheran style the interior is relatively unadorned, the most eye-catching features being a florid pulpit from 1641 and a magnificent nineteenth-century organ with 6768 pipes. The pillars of the nave are decorated with carved coats of arms while its walls are lined with German memorial slabs, mostly dating from the period after the Reformation. The east wing of the cathedral was once a monastery but now houses the Riga Museum of History and Navigation (Rigas vestures un kugniecibas muzejs), Palasta 4 (Wed-Sun 10am-5pm; 1Ls). The ground floor has pictures, maps and postcards of Old Riga, while the first floor has ship models and nautical ephemera. Of more general interest is the display on Jugendstil Riga and the section on Riga between the wars. The next floor houses archeological finds, with the usual array of weapons and tools enlivened by the remains of a longboat hauled out of the Daugava. From the Cathedral Square Pils iela runs down to leafy Castle Square (Pils laukums) and the nondescript Riga Castle (Rigas pils), built in 1515 by the Livonian Order (the organization of crusading knights who conquered the region), and recently restored as a residence for the Latvian president. Heading along Maza Pils iela from Pils laukums takes you past the Three Brothers (Tris brali), three plain medieval houses, one of which dates from the fifteenth century and is thought to be the oldest surviving house in Latvia. A left turn into Jekaba iela at the end of Maza Pils iela leads to the thirteenth-century red-brick St Jacob's Church (Jekaba baznica), the seat of Riga's Roman Catholic archbishop. Next door at Jekaba 11 is Latvia's Parliament (Latvijas augstaka padome), housed in a pompous Renaissance-style building. In January 1991 barricades were erected around the building to protect it from an expected Soviet attack and these remained in place for a year, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the recognition of Latvian independence by Russia. Nearby on Torna iela you'll find the seventeenth-century Swedish Gate (Zviedru varti). This simple archway beneath a three-storey town house was built when Riga was ruled by the Swedes, and is the sole surviving city gate. A more impressive relic can be found at the end of Torna iela in the shape of the Powder Tower (Pulvertornis), a vast, fourteenth-century bastion whose red-brick walls are still embedded with cannonballs from various sieges. Today, it's home to the Museum Of War (Kara muzejs; Wed-Sun 10am-6pm; 0.50Ls; English-language leaflet 0.40Ls) with sections on the War of Liberation (1918-20) when the Latvians beat off the Soviets and the Germans, and on the Latvian Legion of volunteers who served with the German Waffen SS during World War II. Though it's not readily apparent, Bastion Hill (Bastejkalns) - the park that slopes down to the city canal on the eastern edge of Old Riga - is actually a vast earthworks built as part of the city's outer defences. It is also a reminder of Riga's more recent history: on January 20, 1991 four people were killed here by sniper fire as Soviet OMON troops stormed the Latvian Ministry of the Interior on nearby Raina bulvaris during an attempted crackdown on Latvia's independence drive. Stones bearing the names of the victims mark where they fell near the Bastejas bulvaris entrance to the park. From the Swedish Gate Meistaru iela runs down to the Great Guild Hall (Liela Gilde) at Amatu 6, once the centre of commercial life in Hanseatic Riga. Though it dates from the fourteenth century the building owes its present neo-Gothic appearance to a nineteenth-century facelift and now houses the Latvia State Philharmonic. South of Kalku iela on Skarnu iela is St Peter's Church (Peterbaznica; Tues-Sun 10am-5pm), a large red-brick church with a graceful three-tiered spire, dedicated to the city's patron saint. Construction began in 1408 to replace a wooden church built two hundred years earlier. The new church boasted the highest wooden spire in Europe. This was rebuilt in 1746 after it was struck by lightning, only to be destroyed once more by German shelling in 1941. Today, the 123-metre spire is a steel replica, completed in 1973, with a lift (same times; 1.50Ls) taking visitors to a gallery in its upper reaches. A panoramic view of the city can be had from the observation platform. More or less opposite the church, on Skarnu iela, are a clutch of restored medieval buildings. At nos. 10-16 a former chapel of the Knights of the Sword, built in 1208, now houses the Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts (Dekorativas makslas muzejs; Tues-Sun 11am-5pm; 0.70Ls) with a collection of pottery, ceramics, glass and sculpture, while at no. 22 is the Ekes konvents, a fifteenth-century convent. Next door is the thirteenth-century St John's Church (Jana Baznica), whose sober Gothic exterior conceals a fanciful Baroque altar. Before World War II the late-Gothic House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams), headquarters of a guild of bachelor merchants and one of Riga's most famous medieval buildings, stood to the west of St Peter's on what used to be the town hall square (Ratslaukums), which was destroyed in 1941, then totally rebuilt in celebration of Riga's 800-year anniversary in 2001. These days the square, bereft of any other historic buildings, is known as Latvian Riflemen's Square (Latviesu Strelnieku Laukums) in honour of the Latvian soldiers who fought with the Imperial Russian army during World War I, and then with the Bolsheviks, as the Latvian Red Riflemen, during the Russian Civil War. They are commemorated by a red marble statue depicting three stern figures clad in greatcoats and caps near the bridge at the western end of the square. Also on the square is the Occupation Museum of Latvia (Latvijas okupacijas muzejs; www.occupationmuseum.lv ; daily 11am-5pm; free), formerly the Latvian Riflemen's Museum, but now devoted to Latvia's occupation by the Bolsheviks, Nazis and Soviets. Well presented and with some English-language texts, the display is an ideal introduction to Latvian contemporary history. Nearby at Grecinieku 18 is Menzendorff's House (Mencendorfa nams; Wed-Sun 10am-5pm; 0.75Ls), an impeccably restored late-seventeenth-century merchant's house decorated in grand style and adorned with period furniture and artefacts.
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