10 Lats Collector Coin Dedicated to Riga's 800 year Anniversary. Coin dedicated to 13th Century Riga. Struck in 1996, dated 1995

Riga is the heart of the Baltic, and over the centuries has been a city of many rulers. Desired and acquired, often ravaged and rebuilt, Riga remains the eternal bridge between East and West.

Riga grew dynamically in the 13th century. First mentioned in 1198 as a Liv and Cour settlement on the river Daugava, Riga soon became a significant city: the centre of Livonia and a member of the Hanseatic League in 1282. This rapid change was driven by Bishop Albert (Albrecht von Buxhoevden), the first Bishop of Riga, who arrived in the Baltic with 500 German crusaders. His mission was to unite the Baltic tribes in Christianity. Bishop Albert was the official founder of Riga (1201). In the course of the Bishop's 30 years rule Riga become a major trading centre. Riga's silhouette was defined with the castle of the Livonian Order, churches, monasteries and the Riga Dome, one of the grandest buildings of the medieval Livonia.

The 13th century was marked by the indigenous people's sacrifice: battles against suppression and catastrophic fires. By the end of the century, however, tradesmen's buildings had merged with the local population's villages creating the city Riga is today: ethnically diverse but firmly rooted in Western European culture.

The coin's reverse portrays a likeness of Riga's founder Bishop Albert with his sceptre. The city's wall with its towers is featured in Riga's first coat of arms (1226) on the coin's obverse. St. Peter's keys represent the protection of Papal curia, while the sceptre capped by a cross, the Bishop's power.