Arkadija Park is one of the most beautiful and oldest landscape gardens in Riga. It is located in the neighbourhood called Tornakalns. Back in 1808, there was a small private garden on the site of the present park, which was later bought, expanded and equipped by Riga City Council.
In 1852 on the territory of the park it was decided to equip an exotic garden with greenhouses. In the greenhouses built at that time, palm trees and other exotic plants that were brought here from tropical and tropical and equatorial climates. The constructed garden and park complex with its greenhouses with greenhouses gained a certain popularity. The press actively published articles about the park. Many people came here to admire the unusual spectacle.
Gradually, the park turned not only into a recreation area, but also into an entertainment and entertainment complex. Thus, with the aim of extracting, including commercial profit, in 1885 a theatre and a bowling alley were opened here. In 1896 the park was finally taken over by the city administration. At that time, the park was named Torensburg (Tornyakalnski) Park.
In 1900, the garden designer and planner Georg Friedrich Kufaldtu Kufaldtu was commissioned by the Riga City Council to improve the park. The designer decided to change the course of the small Marupīte River, which flowed into the Agenskalnski Bay into the Agenskalns Bay. Thanks to these changes, the river, winding its way through the park, which made the garden and park complex more attractive, aesthetically. In addition, it was possible to make a well-designed system of cascades and waterfalls, bridges over the river were built, as well as the gardener's house. In addition, the park was filled with a large number of new plantings.
However, during these same years, it became necessary to find funds to maintain the the park, and so part of it was rented out. The new tenants decided to build a restaurant on the grounds of Thorensburg 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 begins in the park "Arcadia". This time the designer was the well-known Latvian designer Andrejs Zeidaks. According to his plan in the centre of the park, a concert area was built in the centre of the park, intended for various musical events. It was also planned to build a children's playground. In addition In addition, support walls, staircases and different species of perennials were planted.
In 1958, the restaurant previously built in the park was turned into a cinema. The cinema burned down in the 1990s for reasons still unclear. A few years later, the ruins of the cinema were demolished, and the bandstand gradually fell into and the bandstand gradually fell into disrepair. The park itself, however, is still an attractive place for romantic walks and recreation among locals and tourists.
