Riga - Rīgas Melnais balzams

Riga is the capital of Latvia. With a population of more than 600.000 about a third of all Latvians live here. A settlement of the Finno-Ugric Livs existed on the bank of the Düna. At the end of the 12th century, merchants from Gotland came to trade here.

Albert von Buxthoeven, a fierce missionary, was the first bishop in Riga from 1201 to 1229. Riga developed as the hub of Russian trade and the starting point of the German colonization of the Baltic.

The merchants who settled here after the subjugation of the surrounding peoples rapidly gained influence. In 1225, they were able to elect the city bailiff themselves, when the City Council existed already.

After the Reformation, the power of the archbishops came to an end. After the outbreak of the Livonian War in 1558 the city favoured the status of a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. It was only when the imperial support failed to materialize that the renewed advance of Russian armies led the city to pay homage to Poland's King Stephen Báthory in 1581, who in return confirmed the city's traditional freedoms and privileges.

The 40-year Polish-Lithuanian rule, under which the citizens of Riga successfully resisted anti-Reformation efforts ended with the conquest of the city by Gustav II Adolf of Sweden in 1621. The Swedish crown treated Riga by its rank as the second-largest city in the kingdom and had it lavishly fortified. During the Russo-Swedish War (1656-1658), Riga withstood the Russian siege and maintained its position as one of the most important cities in Sweden until the beginning of the 18th century. During this period the city enjoyed extensive self-government.

Rīgas Melnais balzams (Riga Black Balsam) is a traditional Latvian liqueur made from herbs, flowers, oils and berries with 45% alcohol content.

The traditional recipe was created in 1752 by Abraham Kunze, an apothecary living in Riga. It was initially known as the Kunzer Balsam and sold only in apothecaries as a prescription medicine.

According to a legend, Empress Catherine the Great was heading back to Russia and stopped in Riga for a few days. She became very ill and Kunze was asked to step in after the empress's personal doctor proved helpless. The balsam's success in curing Catherine the Great provided it with popularity and Kunze with exclusive rights to produce the balsam for the next 50 years.