Bishop Albert founds Riga in 1201 as a bridgehead for the Northern Crusades. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword wage war across the Baltic, their deeds immortalized in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle. Riga joins the Hanseatic League in 1282, becoming a vital node in the medieval trade network stretching from Novgorod to Bruges. The Livonian Order builds its castle overlooking the Daugava, and for three centuries Riga grows as a fortress-city, a trading hub, and a seat of ecclesiastical power.

Riga as a powerful Hanseatic trading city under Catholic Church dominance. The Reformation arrives in 1521, sweeping Protestant doctrines through the city. Medieval Latin manuscripts, the earliest known Riga-printed book (1513 Breviary), and Hanseatic trade documents tell the story of a city on the cusp of transformation.

Ivan the Terrible invades in 1558, igniting decades of war. The Livonian Order dissolves, Riga falls to Poland-Lithuania, and the city becomes a contested prize between Russia, Poland, and Sweden.

Gustav II Adolf conquers Riga in 1621, making it the largest city in the entire Swedish Empire — larger than Stockholm itself. Livonia supplies a third of Sweden’s war costs. A golden era of Baltic German culture.

The devastating Russian siege of 1709–1710 and a catastrophic plague kill two-thirds of Riga’s population. Tsar Peter the Great claims the city. The Treaty of Nystad formally cedes the Baltic provinces to Russia.

All of Latvia falls under Russian rule. Napoleon’s army approaches in 1812, and Riga’s suburbs are burned as a desperate defense. Serfdom is abolished, railways arrive, and Riga transforms into a major industrial seaport.