Riga is the capital of the Republic of Latvia and the geographical centre of the Baltic States, as well as its largest city. Founded in 1201, Riga covers a territory of 307 square km, and numbers some 815,000 inhabitants, a quarter of Latvia’s population. Riga’s rich culture and varied lifestyle has origins in the peoples of its past; Latvians, Russians, Byelorussians, Ukrainians and other nationalities have all influenced the city’s passage through time.