Bolderaja
Encyclopedia
Bolderāja is a district to the north-west of Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

, the capital of Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

. It probably began as a fishing village. The area has been inhabited since at least the 10th century and possibly for a longer period of time but unfortunately there is no firm evidence because of variations in the course of the Daugava River and the shifting of sand dunes.

The area was made into a Polish customs post in 1606. The wooden houses built during the Polish era in 1603 may be the oldest in Riga.

Bolderāja was the last district added to the city of Riga in 1927.

Bolderāja was a district consisting mostly of private houses and low rise buildings, but after the 1970s five to nine floor blocks of flats were built by the Soviet government. The population of Bolderāja is largely Russian-speaking.

From time immemorial the inhabitants of the area around the mouth of the Daugava river were renowned for being hard-working and courageous. River mouths were historically key strategic positions. Consequently many battles were fought with numerous invaders.

Geography

Bolderāja is located in the northwest part of Riga city, on the left bank of the Daugava River and about 2 km away from the Gulf of Riga
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. According to C.Michael Hogan, a saline stratification layer is found at a depth of approximately seventy metres....

.

Bolderāja is surrounded by water. From the south-east, the Hapaka grāvis (eng.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

:Hapaka Ditch
), from the east, the Daugava River, from the north, the Loču kanāls (eng.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

:Lochu Canal
), and from the west, north-west, the Buļļupe (eng.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

:Bull River
).

There are also two noteworthy islands. North of the district is Mīlestības saliņa (eng.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

:Love Island
) the name of which originates from the previous existence of military bases and as a result many children were conceived in this area. East of the district is Krievu sala (eng.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

:Russian Island
), which in fact a peninsula.
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