The Latgale or Moscow Suburbs

These are situated in the SE part of Riga on the right bank of the Daugava, and are one of the original components of Riga’s cultural environment. People often call the oldest area of the suburb the “Moscow Suburb.” The Riga railway line divides this part of the city from its centre. This is an historic region of settlements for Russians, from whom the name originated. Traditionally Russian barge haulers settled here who floated trees down the Daugava. Old Believers persecuted in Russia also found their place here. Many good workers were brought to Riga from the Russian provinces, when one of the oldest and most famous of the Riga factories, Kuznecov’s, a porcelain and glazed earthenware workshop, was established here at the beginning of the 19th century.

In the period of the Latvian Republic, the Moscow Suburb received the name of the Latgale Suburb, but it was established as the Moscow District and administrative unit in 1941. In 1991 the area again received the name of the Latgale Suburb. Many 19th century wooden buildings, as well as the tenement houses built at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, can still be seen in the Latgale Suburb. Two water towers constructed by to the engineer O.Intce in Mazā Matīsa Street are memorials to interesting technical construction at the end of the 19th century. In the outskirts one can also see apartment houses along Samarin (now Lomonosova) and Jaņa Asara Streets, which were built by the Riga Board of Administration in 1925-1930. A wide network of multi-story buildings went up in the Latgale Suburb between 1960 and 1970. In 1958 a building was constructed here whose style can best be seen by viewing Riga from the Pārdaugava side of the river - the Academy of Sciences skyscraper on the Turgeņeva Street. This building was constructed as a block for collective farmers, and built according to the plans of the architects O.Tīlmanis and V.Apsītis.

At present, construction in the Latgale Suburb is still in progress, especially in the region of Krasta Street, where modern commercial buildings and automobile shops can be observed.
The Latgale Suburb has churches for different denominations. The Grebenshchikov Church of Old-Believers is one of three Riga churches with two towers, and is the only church with a plated dome. The biggest wooden historic building in Latvia, the Riga Gospel Lutheran Church, is also situated here.