Freedom Square (Riga)
Freedom Square is an area around the Freedom Monument in the center of Riga, between Brīvības Boulevard and Kaļķu Street, and from Rainis Boulevard to the intersection of Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics Boulevard and Aspazija Boulevard. It is regularly used as a venue for celebrations and events.
Freedom Square is an area around the Freedom Monument in the center of Riga, between Brīvības Boulevard and Kaļķu Street, and from Rainis Boulevard to the intersection of Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics Boulevard and Aspazija Boulevard. It is regularly used as a venue for celebrations and events.
Freedom Square dates back to the Swedish Vidzeme era in the 17th century, when the engineer Rodenburg's plan for the construction of the new fortifications in Riga moved the main city gate to the end of Kaļķu Street. In the 18th century there was an unfinished Esplanade to Elizabetes Street in front of the Kaļķu Gate, behind which began the construction area of the St. Petersburg suburb and the Lielā Smilšu Street, which in 1818 was renamed Alexander Street. Following the demolition of the earth's ramparts in 1859, Alexander Street was extended to the City Canal and in 1861 was renamed Great Alexander Street. Between 1870 and 1876, the section of Great Alexander Street from the City Canal to Elizabetes Street was called Alexander Boulevard, but in 1923 it was renamed Brivibas (Freedom) Boulevard.
In 1935 the Freedom Monument was unveiled on the square. On June 14, 1987, three years before the restoration of Latvia's independence, the first anti-Soviet demonstration took place in the square near the Freedom Monument, attended by around 5,000 people – a flower-laying ceremony organized by Helsinki-86 to commemorate victims of mass deportations.
In March 2018, the Riga City Council endorsed the area around the Freedom Monument as the Freedom Square.
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