Bastion Hill
Bastion Hill is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Riga audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~30 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type park
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Riga Riga guide
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About Bastion Hill
A green park on Riga's former ramparts, with a canal, an 1898 dolomite cascade, and sober stone markers to those killed in the January 1991 Barricades.
Bastejkalns (Bastion Hill) is a park laid out on the site of Riga's former Sand Bastion, along the Pilsētas kanāls, the City Canal. When the city's ramparts were dismantled in the 1850s and 1860s, the moat was kept as the canal and the ground beyond the wall became a belt of parkland through the centre of Riga. The landscape park was developed between 1859 and 1887 under the Riga Gardens Directorate, whose director from 1879 was Georg Kuphaldt. Bastion Hill itself is an artificial hill, the last remnant of the medieval sand bulwark, with views over the canal, a dolomite waterfall cascade built in 1898, and summer boat rides.
The park also holds reddish stone markers to people killed here during the January 1991 Barricades, when tens of thousands of Latvians defended their independence without arms. On 20 January 1991 Soviet OMON forces stormed the nearby Ministry of the Interior, and five people were killed in connection with the attack. The park additionally contains monuments to the writer Rūdolfs Blaumanis (1929) and former Riga mayor George Armitstead (2006).
Did you know? Bastion Hill is an artificial mound, the last surviving piece of Riga's medieval sand bulwark. The surrounding park was laid out between 1859 and 1887, with a dolomite waterfall cascade added in 1898.
How long should you spend at Bastion Hill?
Plan about ~30 min at Bastion Hill. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Bastion Hill worth visiting?
Bastion Hill is one of the 21 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Riga, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Riga
Day 1 of the Riga in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Bastion Hill
Preview the Riga tour free in the Gingerguide app.