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Twin water towers

These beautiful water towers were built by Oto Intce and Rūdolfs Frišs in 1896–1897 and were the first water towers built in Riga. Surprisingly, one of these is the only water tower still in use to this day. They are known among locals as Anna and Zhanna (Ann and Joan). Legend has it that Anna was a skilled quack in medieval Riga. She was accused of being a witch and burnt to death. This caused her sister Zhanna to commit suicide. Their ashes were brought to a place that was considered wicked, which is exactly the water towers are located today. This place is indeed quite strange and renowned for its remoteness dominated by a huge cemetery and a prison.

history

Getting there: at the crossing of three railway lines, near Mazā Matīsa street

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Listing from Wikivoyage: Riga/Outer East Bank, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

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Gas storage buildings
Two gas storage buildings from 1882 and 1901 (end of Matīsa iela) are landmarks of the old gas factory in Riga. These enormous structures reaching 40 m in diameter are probably the largest buildings of their kind in Eastern Europe. Note the pressure meter that mimics a clock.
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Matisa cemetery
Matisa cemetery adjacent to the water towers has an interesting monument to the Latvian revolutionary heroes of the Russian Revolution of 1905. The monument was built in 1956-59 and consists of a long wall with haut-relief of Latvian revolutionaries and some poets' epitaphs. The cemetery also has a small monument to the victims of the 1940-1941 period of the Soviet occupation.
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Church of Our Lady of Kazan
Another church on the same cemetery. Build of wood in 1812-15 in a somewhat awkward style with 5 small domes sitting on a massive drum.
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Church of John the Baptist
Construction started in 1913-14 but it was not finished before the Russian Revolution and continued in 1920s when Latvia became independent. This led to a strange mix of styles rendering the church a rare example of modernist architecture implemented in an Orthodox temple. The adjacent Ivanovskoe cemetery is the main Orthodox cemetery of Riga.