OLD FORTIFICATIONS (VECPILSETĀS MŪRIS)

Like most medieval European cities, Rīga had a system of fortifications consisting of walls and towers. The Powder Tower(Pulvera tornis) was one of the 28 towers that stood along the city wall. Erected in 1330, the Pulvera tornis guarded the main access to the town from the mainland. It was then called the Tour de Sable, after the sandy road that led to the capital. In 1621, during the battle led by the Swedish King Gustav Adolphus, the tower was destroyed but was quickly rebuilt to begin storing gunpowder (which gave it its current name). Today it houses the War Museum. Walking up Trokšņu iela, you pass along a part of the city walls rebuilt in 1987.

At the intersection of Torna iela and Aldaru iela streets, you will find the Swedish Gate (Zviedru vārti), which was built in 1698, formed a passageway between Torna iela and Trokšņu iela, which was a kind of wasteland inside the city walls where soldiers gathered in case of alarm. Originally named "Alarm Street", its current name means "Street of Noise". German cannons, mouths in the ground as a sign of defeat, ceremoniously frame this gate, a symbol of the Swedish victory. Legend has it that as punishment for their outlawed love, a young Swedish soldier and his Latvian sweetheart were buried alive in the Swedish Gate.