- Address: Eksporta iela 3A, Ziemeļu rajons, Rīga, LV-1010, Latvia;
- The area of the port territory: 1962 hectares;
- Freight turnover: 40 million tons;
- Website: rigasosta.lv;
- Working hours: every day from 09:00 to 18:00.
The seaport in Riga is one of the three major Latvian ports on the Baltic Sea (the other two are Liepaja and Ventspils). This is the biggest passenger port in Latvia .
History of the port
Due to its location, Riga has always been the center of maritime trade. At the end of the 15th century, with the beginning of the era of mass sea freight traffic, the city's port moved from the Ridzene River to the Daugava , and in the following years, fabrics, metal, salt and herring were transported by sea from Riga. In the XIX century. West and East Mol. At the beginning of XX century. a large-scale export of timber was carried out through the port. The passenger seaport was built in Riga in 1965. In the early 80's. On the island of Kundzinsala, one of the largest container terminals in the USSR was built at that time.
Now the seaport of Riga stretches for 15 km along the banks of the Daugava. The territory of the port is 19.62 km ², together with the water area - 63.48 km ².
Sightseeing of the port
In the seaport of Riga there is something to see. On the territory of the port there are 3 reserves: the island of Milestibas, the Vecdaugava reserve and the Kremery reserve, the nesting grounds for dozens of bird species, including protected ones.
On the eastern mole is the Daugavgriva lighthouse. The current lighthouse has been here since 1957. Before that, it was twice blown up - during the First and Second World Wars. And for the first time a lighthouse was built on this place in the 16th century.
Next to the Mangalsala Mausoleum in the concrete, the Tsar's stones were sealed: on one it is indicated that on May 27, 1856 the Emperor Alexander II visited here, on the second, the date of the visit of Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich - August 5, 1860
Tourists like to walk along the shore and be photographed against the background of the sea - beautiful pictures remain for memory.
Freight and passenger transportation
Riga port specializes in import and is the point of transit of goods from and to the territory of the CIS countries. Objects of cargo turnover - coal, oil products, timber, metals, mineral fertilizers, chemical goods and containers.
Throughput of the port grew continuously in the 2000s, reaching a maximum in 2014 (41080.4 thousand tons), after which there was a slight decrease in indicators.
Every day a cargo-passenger ferry runs between Riga and Stockholm, the Estonian company Tallink (the vessel Isabelle and Romantika) carries out the transportation.
How to get there?
The passenger terminal is located near the city center. You can get to it in several ways.
- Walking distance. The road from the Freedom Monument will take no more than 20 min.
- Take the tram number 5, 6, 7 or 9 and ride to the stop "Boulevard Kronvalda."
- Take the shuttle bus from the Tallink Hotel Riga.