Why go
This period helps place Riga within the Baltic contest for ports and river access. The city retained a measure of self-government even while larger powers fought for it. It is context for the Old Town’s long civic history, rather than a claim that its buildings all belong to one ruler.
The full story
The Livonian War broke the old Livonian Order’s power. Riga spent roughly two decades as a Free Imperial City before coming under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1581. This shift did not end competition for the city: its position on the Daugava made it valuable to neighbouring states. Swedish forces under Gustavus Adolphus took Riga in 1621. The city kept substantial self-government under Swedish rule, and it withstood a Russian siege during the war of 1656–58. These events show why the port mattered beyond Latvia: holding Riga meant influence over trade and movement through the eastern Baltic. The Great Northern War changed its ruler again. Russian forces under Peter the Great besieged Riga, which capitulated in 1710 while largely retaining existing privileges. Russia’s position in the region was formalised by the 1721 Treaty of Nystad. For a visitor, the sequence explains how the same city could maintain civic continuity through several changes of sovereignty.