Neighborhoods of Rīga: Torņakalns – A place of remembrance of the history of Latvia
Torņakalns is a neighborhood of the Latvian Capital Rīga at the left bank of the Daugava River. The former name, when Rīga was still under the administration of the Baltic Germans, was Thorenzberg. We don’t have a better story, but perhaps the district’s name derives from a tower that stood opposite the Rīga Fortress and was meant to protect them from an enemy takeover. The district of Torņakalns is located directly opposite the old town. There is no better story. Thorenzberg was probably named after a watchtower from medieval. In fact, there was a high watchtower here, which warned the city and fortress of Riga of advancing enemies. And also in fact, the border to the Polish ruled Courland was only a few kilometers west. Torņakalns today has about 7.400 inhabitants and the population density is about 2.400 inhabitants per square kilometer. Torņakalns borders the neighborhoods of Āgenskalns, Ziepniekkalns, Atgāzene and Bieriņi.
