Thesaurus

Originally inhabited by early Baltic tribes, then settled by German merchants in 1158. Bishop Albert I of Livonia and Crusaders made it the center of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. Rīga joined the Hanseatic League in 1282. Later ruled by Sweden, Poland, and Russia. The city was badly damaged in World War II. In 1943, the Germans established the Kaiserwald concentration camp in the city, and operated it, killing thousands, until Soviet forces approached in 1944; historic core named an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.