Mežaparks (park)
Mežaparks ( Forest Park) is a large urban park in the Mežaparks neighbourhood of Riga, the capital of Latvia. The park is home to the open-air Mežaparks Great Bandstand and has Riga Zoo located next to it as well as access to Ķīšezers lake. The territory is covered with coastal dunes, much of it with boreal forests, both protected conserved biotopes. The territory began to be used for recreation in the 18th century and was added to Riga's territory in the 19th century. In 1901, the Mežaparks neighbourhood became Russian Empire's first architectural project to use the garden city movement. The area was expanded and developed during the first half of the 20th century, primarily serving as an elite sports complex. After World War II in 1949, the Soviet Government carried out a major expansion of the park and inaugurated it as a public park with many recreational areas and buildings. Up until the end of the 20th century, the park continued to serve as a public park. Although little of the Soviet architecture survives, the park has seen a resurgence after restoration of Latvia's independence and is currently a popular recreational location. The park and the neighbourhood are a national heritage site and architectural cultural monuments. Overview Mežaparks is a situated in the North-Eastern part of Riga., which itself is in Rīgavas līdzenums (Rigava plain) in :lv:Piejūras zemiene (Seaside lowland). It is part of the Mežaparks neighbourhood of the same name. It is located next to Ķīšezers lake, has Riga Zoo adjacent to it, and is surrounded by primarily residential areas. The park's area is , of which are classified as natural landscape, as constructions with greenery (including the Riga Zoo and Great Bandstand) and as various constructions. The park is freely-accessible to public and a place for various activities, recreation as well as active sports, including during winter. The park is criss-crossed with asphalted pathways and pedestrian streets. A historic open-air Green Theater is located here, originally built in the park's central part in 1949, dismantled in the 1980s, and restored in 2003. The park is adjacent on the East side to the Ķīšezers lake, which is the 10th biggest lake in Latvia covering an area of . There is a small beach with amenities and small boat piers next to the lake. There are various other recreational objects, such as one of the country's biggest playgrounds, children's adventure park, BMX track, disc golf square, minigolf complex, and others. There is also an amusement park. The biggest and best-known national-significance cultural object in the park is the Mežaparks Great Bandstand designed by architects V. Šņitņikova, G. Irbīte, K. Dannenhirša; later reconstructed in 1990. Further reconstruction has been planned since 2008 with the first stage completed in 2018 and second planned for 2023. Since 1955, the bandstand has served as the traditional place for the Latvian Song and Dance Festival. In 1998, the park was designated as a local cultural monument and a national heritage site. Since 2016, the