Riga Central Market
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Riga Central Market () is Europe's largest market and
bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
in
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
,
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
. It is one of the most notable structures from 20th century in Latvia and has been included in
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
list together with
Old Riga Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
in 1998. It was planned from 1922 and built from 1924 to 1930. The main structures of the market are five pavilions constructed by reusing old German
Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155 ...
hangars and incorporating
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
and
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
styles. The market is wide with more than 3,000 trade stands. The
joint stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certifi ...
''Rīgas Centrāltirgus'' is currently owned by the Riga municipality and the chairman of the board since 2010 is Anatolijs Abramovs.


Overview

Currently, due to the rise of supermarkets, the market is showing similar trends and is seen as a cheap shopping place in Riga, however Riga City Council has expressed priority of preserving the market's mission and cultural value. The main goal of the company's board of directors is increase of customer flow throughout the market. They noted that among the problems is petty theft, customer deceit, and homeless people. Administration has determined to take tough measures on sellers that are deceiving customers. In 2009 market renovation plans were proposed and plans conceived in 2010. There are also future plans to join nearby
train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
and bus station into a single complex as well as increase selling of national produce.


History


Construction

Produce has been sold on the banks of Daugava since 1571 and in 1863 trade stand rows were built. On December 18, 1922,
Riga City Council Riga City Council () is the government of the city of Riga, the capital of Latvia. Its meeting place is in the Riga Town Hall (''Rīgas rātsnams)'' at the Town Hall Square (''Rātslaukums'') in the very heart of Riga. The Riga City Council con ...
decided to move the crowded and highly unsanitary Daugavmala Market to a new enclosed location in conformity with hygienic and economic requirements. The market's plan was selected in an international competition. One of the highest prizes was received by Riga's architect
Pāvils Dreijmanis Pāvils Dreijmanis (4 February 1895, Aloja, Russian Empire – 21 August 1953, Adelaide, Australia) was a Latvian architect and recipient of the Cross of Recognition medal and the Order of the Three Stars. Career By the age of 40, Dreijmani ...
and engineer S. Žitkovs collaborative proposal to reuse metal frameworks from World War I German
Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155 ...
hangars Walhalla and Walther used in
Vaiņode Air Base Vaiņode (also somewhere written as Vainodo, Vainede, Vaynede, Vaynodo, and Toyvanede) is a former USSR air base in Latvia, located south of Skrunda. It was abandoned in 1993. It is only from the border with Lithuania. History During World Wa ...
. The initial large structure design was impractical due to their size and weather conditions and the new buildings only used the top parts of the hangar design. The buildings themselves were constructed from stone and reinforced concrete. The construction started in June 1924 and finished in autumn 1930, taking seven years instead of planned five as construction halted during 1926–1928 due to financial problems. The development was overseen by the city council's marketing department head Klāvs Lorencs. The overseeing architects were Pāvils Dreijmanis and P. Pavlovs together with engineers V. Isajevs and G. Tolstojs. The construction was carried out by stock company "Construction" () and market's construction office under the supervision of V. Isajevs. Riga paid nearly 5 million
roubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...
to the state property commission. This was at the time the biggest project in Europe spanning . Five pavilions were envisioned with the largest hangar for wholesale and meat processing and smaller ones for retail. Four of them are located side by side and the biggest, fifth, was built perpendicular to them. All buildings had modern central heating and electric lighting. The complex was built in
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style. A wide basement was built under the hangars for storage. Up to of goods could be stored in the 27 freezers in 1938. In 1961, during Soviet time, almost of goods could be stored. The products were moved topside with cranes without disturbing traffic and sellers. The basement has three tunnels connecting to the adjacent river bank. Retail sales began November 10, 1930, the same day Daugavmala Market closed. Even before the opening, hangars were used for various expositions and shows during the first half of the year. Although the Central Market was three times the size of the Daugavmala Market, the majority of space was occupied by offices, warehouses and basements. The rent per square meters exceeded that of other markets and locations. Retail sellers could not afford the rent and wholesale merchants could not place their workers. This gave rise to high prices. This was solved by making an open-air roofed porch, with a 170 horse team capacity. In 1938 a separate horse stable opened. In 1936 the most modern bird slaughterhouse in the state opened. Juris Dambis, head of the State Inspection for Heritage Protection, says "When Riga Central Market was first opened on November 2, 1930, it was the largest and the most progressive marketplace on earth." During the 1930s the market pavilions were one of the main tourist attractions. A wide and cheap array of produce was available for
degustation Dégustation is the careful, appreciative tasting of various food, focusing on the gustatory system, the senses, high culinary art and good company. Dégustation is more likely to involve sampling small portions of all of a chef's signature dis ...
. Tourists from Germany and England highly appreciated the butter and bacon. The fish pavilion was especially attractive with large, colourful aquariums. The large number of tourists furthered the Central Markets reputation as one of the more grandiose buildings in Europe.


During occupations

The market was not affected by the first Soviet occupation in 1940. However, the Nazi German occupation lasted for three and a half years. Farmers were not allowed to freely sell their produce and were forced to supply the
German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
and the market sold only limited amounts. Beginning September 1, 1941, food cards were required for purchase. During these years first roof repairs were carried out on May 30, 1942. The market's territory was readjusted to be suitable for war times. The two pavilions closest to the
Daugava The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...
were converted into housing the German 726th supply unit's vehicle engine repair shop. A fire hazardous lumber storage was set nearby to necessitate
Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...
. Three repair shop office barracks were planned, but only one was active prior to the 1944 Soviet Union occupation. During the Soviet occupation, the market was renamed Central Kolkhoz Market () in 1949. The Soviet press praised the market as one of the best markets in the Soviet Union. In 1950 nine out of ten farms were unified in
kolkhoz A kolkhoz ( rus, колхо́з, a=ru-kolkhoz.ogg, p=kɐlˈxos) was a form of collective farm in the Soviet Union. Kolkhozes existed along with state farms or sovkhoz. These were the two components of the socialized farm sector that began to eme ...
es during the agriculture collectivisation and by 1961 the majority of goods were supplied collectively by 60 kolkhozes. Daily about 50-70 thousand customers shopped at the market — up to 100 thousand during weekends. 1961 market statistics showed sells of of poultry, of milk, about 7 million eggs, and more than of vegetables and fruits. In the 1980s the market's ammonia based refrigerating plants were replaced with freon machinery. The low-pressure steam heating system was swapped with a connection to the city's central heating system. In 1983 the fruit and vegetable pavilion caught fire, which spread to
peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
insulation and lasted for tens of hours. In 1987 rat problems were solved in the market.


Heritage

On October 18, 1983, the
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation and annexation of Latvia began between J ...
's Council of Ministers announced the market as a cultural heritage site. Shortly after Latvia regained independence 1991, market director Leonīds Lapoško showed that the market was in dire condition, especially underground. On January 3, 1995, the city council established stock company Riga Central Market (). In the next half year it merged with Riga Market Company () to form a combined location between the central market's pavilions and outside street bazaar. In August 1998 Riga City Council rented the outside market territory until 2045. In 1998 the market territory, together with
Old Riga Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
, were included in the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
list. The market's pavilions are five of nine Zeppelin hangars remaining in the world. On January 15, 2019, the reconstructed Gastronomy Pavilion, which had been closed since the fall of 2016, was opened. The renovation of the gastronomy pavilion cost about 1.7 million euros.


Architecture

The architecture was influenced by practical need as well as
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
. The Zeppelin hangars gave the pavilions their look and only certain parts could be accented with
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style.


References


External links


Riga Central Market

Pictures from Riga Central Market

View of the Riga Central Market (WebCam)
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Central Market Central Market may refer to: Fresh food markets *Adelaide Central Market, Australia * Cardiff Central Market, Wales *Central Market, Hong Kong * Central Market, Casablanca, Morocco *Riga Central Market, Latvia * Central Market (Columbus, Ohio), Uni ...
Economy of Riga Retail markets in Riga History of Riga Art Deco architecture Commercial buildings completed in 1930 1930 establishments in Latvia