Travel: This overshadowed European capital was formed by crusades and shaped by the Reformation

A view of the Old Town in Riga, the capital of Latvia. | Dennis Lennox

RIGA, Latvia — The spires and pinnacles of old churches rise above cobblestone streets lined with red-brick buildings and pastel-hued facades that reflect centuries of conquest, trade and confession.
Overshadowed by better-known European capitals, this city, the capital of Latvia, offers readers of this column a quintessential Old World experience without the crowds.
The streets of Riga, Latvia. | Dennis Lennox

Riga, as we know it, was founded in 1201 by Bishop Albert von Buxhoeveden, a German who was more than just a prelate. He was also a crusader, as this swath of Northern Europe — the lands of the modern Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — was the last pagan stronghold in Christian Europe. Much of the Christianization of the Baltic tribes that called this land home came by the sword of the Teutonic knights.

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