Landmark

Convent Courtyard

Riga, Latvia

Convent Courtyard near Riga

Konventa Sēta, or Convent Courtyard, is a historic group of buildings and passages in Riga’s Old Town. Its story runs from a medieval military site and Holy Spirit hospice to warehouses, restoration and present-day use.

Guide preview

A passage off Kalēju iela leads into Konventa Sēta, the Convent Courtyard, a small network of buildings and paths in Riga’s Old Town. The name suggests a monastery, but its history also includes a fortress, a shelter, warehouses and a hotel. The buildings seen today belong to different periods; the age of the site is not the age of every wall around it.

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Quick facts

  • The Brothers of the Sword had a castle on the site in the thirteenth century.
  • The name recalls the Holy Spirit Convent and its charitable work.
  • The quarter contains buildings and passages from several periods, rather than a single medieval structure.

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