The capital and largest city of Latvia on the Gulf of Riga, an inlet of the Baltic Sea bordering on Latvia and Estonia. Founded as a trading post on a site originally inhabited by Baltic tribes, the city became a member of the Hanseatic League in 1282 and later passed to Poland (1581), Sweden (1621), and Russia (1710). Population: 722,000.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
