The Swedish Gate, Riga, Guía del visitante y qué hacer cerca

The Swedish Gate (Zviedru vārti) is a narrow arched passage cut through the old city wall of Riga, Latvia, next to the Old Town streets near Trokšņu iela. It is the only surviving gate of Riga's medieval city walls, and it ties together stories of Swedish rule, city law and the city's executioner.

The story behind it

The gate dates from 1698, when Riga was part of the Swedish kingdom, which is how it got its name. Passing through the thick wall, you are walking through the line that once separated the walled town from the lands outside it. Local legend adds a love story to the gate, about a girl who met a Swedish soldier and was walled up inside it as punishment. It is a legend, so treat it as a tale and not as recorded history.

The street beside the gate, Trokšņu iela, holds another piece of the story. Riga was known as a city of relative freedom, where the old saying was that city air makes you free, but the town also had strict justice. The city employed an executioner as an official, paid by the city, and the trade often passed from father to son. His house still stands near the gate, and you can spot it by its tiny window. For a long time the executioner was a regular part of city life, handling the grim jobs that no one else wanted.

What to look for

• The arched opening in the thick wall shows how solid the old fortifications were, and it is easy to see the depth of the stone as you walk through.
• The executioner's house on the street beside the gate is recognisable by its very small window.
• The yellow buildings and the cobbled lane around the gate show how the Old Town folds right up against the line of the wall.
• Walk through the gate in both directions, because the view changes from the narrow street to the open area outside the wall.

Tips for your visit

• The gate is an open-air spot on a public street, so you can see it at any time of day without a ticket.
• Allow ten to fifteen minutes here, a little longer if you want to look at the surrounding houses and take photos.
• Early morning or evening is quietest, and the low light gives the stone a warmer look.
• It is close to the Powder Tower and Jacob's Barracks, so it fits easily into a wider walk around the northern edge of the Old Town.

See it on a quest

The Medieval Riga quest passes the Swedish Gate as one stop on a longer route on foot through the Old Town. The app tells you about each place when you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you, so you look at the gate and its street more closely than you would on your own. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You can start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join.