Description of the attraction
Park "Arcadia" - is one of the most beautiful and oldest landscaped gardens in Riga, located in a microdistrict called Tornakalns. Back in 1808, on the site of the present park, there was a small private garden, which was later bought, expanded and equipped by the Riga City Council.
In 1852, it was decided to equip an exotic garden with greenhouses on the territory of the park. The greenhouses built at that time cultivated palms and other exotic plants that were brought here from tropical and equatorial climates. The constructed garden and park complex with greenhouses has gained some popularity. The press actively published articles about the park. Many people came here to enjoy the unusual sight.
Gradually, the park turned not only into a recreation area, but also into an entertainment and entertainment complex. So, in order to extract, including commercial benefits, in 1885 a theater and a bowling alley were opened here. In 1896, the park was finally taken over by the city administration. Then the park was named Torensburg (Tornakalns) park.
In 1900, the garden and park designer and designer Georg Friedrich Kufaldt received an order from the Riga City Council for the improvement of the park. The designer decided to change the course of the small river Marupite, which flows into the Agenskalns Bay. Thanks to such changes, the river, meandering, began to flow through the park, which added to the garden and park complex more attractive, from an aesthetic point of view. In addition, they managed to make a well-thought-out system of cascades and waterfalls, bridges were built across the river, as well as a gardener's house. In addition, the park was filled with a lot of new plantings.
However, in the same years, there was a need to find funds for the maintenance of the park, and therefore part of it was leased. The new tenants decided to build a restaurant on the territory of Torensburg Park. The restaurant was called Arcadia. Soon, in 1911, the park itself received this name. In addition, a shooting gallery, a bowling alley and a musical entertainment pavilion were opened.
In 1926, a new reconstruction began in the Arcadia park. This time Andrei Zeidaks, well-known in Latvia, was the designer. According to his plan, a concert area was built in the center of the park, intended for various musical events. It was also planned to build a playground. In addition, support walls, ladders were installed and various species of perennials were planted.
In 1958, the previously built restaurant in the park was converted into a movie theater. The cinema burned down in the 1990s for reasons still unclear. A few years later, the ruins of the cinema were demolished, and the stage gradually fell into disrepair. However, the park itself is still an attractive place for romantic walks and relaxation among locals and tourists.
