Bastion Hill (Bastejkalns)

With the removal of the earth fortifications, a new period in the development of Riga set in, offering great opportunities to beautify the city. The Riga ramparts were destroyed and in their place an area of official buildings, boulevards and green spaces was established from 1857 to 1863 in a semicircle embracing Old Riga. The greening of the canal banks was an important aspect of the development of this area. The former defensive moat became a winding city canal. From 1859 plants were cultivated along both banks of the canal. The first plantings in the area from K.Valdemāra Street to Kr.Barona Street were performed by A.Vendt, an engineer from Luebeck. The gardener Reims continued planting from 1863 to the autumn of 1879. From 1880, when the Town Council established a Garden Committee under the guidance of G. Kuphalt, the vegetation was considerably remade taking into account developing traffic. Higher demands were set for the art of gardens.

One of the most beautiful places, set in a semicircle of greenery, is a hill built over the former Sand Bastion - Bastejkalns. Stone embankments with small cascades and waterfalls were arranged here to resemble a mountain river in accordance with G. Kuphalt’s design in 1888. Alpine plants were cultivated here. In 1883, at the request of the citizens, a wooden footbridge was built near the Bastion Hill for pedestrians. In 1892 a stone bridge designed by A. Agte, the city’s chief engineer, replaced it. In the next year the bridge environs were beautified with trees, and the Society of Bird Breeders presented the City Garden Committee with two pairs of swans, for whom a swan house was built according to a design by the architect H. Shell.