Mežaparks
Mežaparks ( German : Kaiserwald ) is a district of the Latvian capital Riga .
location
It is located in the northeast of the urban area in the district of Ziemeļu rajons on the left bank of Lake Ķīšezers . The neighboring districts are Čiekurkalns , Brasa , Sarkandaugava and Milgrāvis . 4,413 inhabitants (2008) live on an area of 11.821 km². Translated, Mežaparks literally means 'forest park'.
history
The park and the villa suburb, conceived as a garden city , were laid out at the beginning of the 20th century for the German elite in Riga; the German name was Kaiserwald . On March 26, 1919, during the Latvian War of Independence , 47 people were shot by Bolsheviks here in the forest , including Provost Karl Schlau and Pastor Edgar Haßmann . During the Second World War , the Kaiserwald concentration camp built by the National Socialists was located in this district .
The Riga Zoo ( Rīgas Zooloģiskais dārzs ) has existed there since the district was built , as well as a leisure and amusement park . There is an open-air stage on which the Latvian song festivals also take place. This made it an important location for the Singing Revolution .
The SV Kaiserwald Riga soccer team was one of the leading teams in the 1910s and 1920s and twice became Latvian champions.
Web links
- City administration information (Latvian)
Coordinates: 57 ° 0 ′ 14 " N , 24 ° 9 ′ 32" E