Riga Town Hall Square or Rātslaukums in Latvian, has been a pivotal place in Riga history since early 1200-ies when Riga as city was founded. This was the place where the council was gathering to discuss important things on the city management.
Now the Town Hall square is a home for the Riga City Council, The House of Blackheads, Riga Technical University, walk-in Riga Information office, Museum of Occupation of Latvia and several cosy restaurants and coffee shops.
In the middle of the square you will find the “Statue of St. Roland” in full armour, a medieval french abbot who has been a patron of the town since 1897 when the statue was built.
The square got massively bombed during the WWII, and now rebuilt almost to its original look, however the black building of the “Museum of Occupation of Latvia” until 1991 being a “Museum of Red Latvian Riflemen” and promoting completely different values, is obviously not part of the original historic architecture ensemble. It was built in 1971 to celebrate the 100th birthday of Lenin.