The Freedom Monument in Riga

The Freedom Monument is the tallest and best-loved landmark in central Riga. Latvians call it Milda, after the young woman who stands at the top. She lifts the whole monument to 42 metres, right at the start of Brivibas Boulevard, on the line between the Old Town and the city park. Workers laid the foundation stone in 1931, and the finished monument was unveiled on 18 November 1935, the anniversary of Latvia's independence.

It stands on the spot where a statue of the Russian emperor Peter I once stood, until the First World War. That swap says a lot about what the place means. The monument marks the end of the Freedom Battles, which began when Latvia declared independence in 1918 and ended with the peace treaty of 1920. Above all, it honours the people who died for the young country.

The design is the work of the sculptor Kārlis Zāle, picked on the fourth round of a public competition under the motto 'Shine like a star'. Zāle said he wanted a monument that everyone could understand, in every age. The bigger surprise is how it was paid for. The monument cost 2.5 million lats, and the young state simply did not have the money.

So the whole country chipped in. Wealthy firms and clubs gave, and so did students and schoolchildren who handed over their pocket money. People dropped coins into collection urns on the street, and organisers ran lotteries and charity balls to raise the rest. When the monument finally opened in 1935, more than 100,000 people came to see it unveiled.

At the centre stands Mother Latvia. In one hand she holds a sword to guard the shield of the homeland, and in the other a sheaf of grain for work and plenty. Beside her are a son and a daughter of the nation. Around the base are 13 sculpture groups and reliefs. They include the legendary hero Lāčplēsis wrestling a bear, and a group called The Chain Breakers, showing people breaking free of their shackles.

The motto carved across the front reads 'For Fatherland and Freedom' (Tēvzemei un Brīvībai). The poet Kārlis Skalbe suggested the words. At the very top, the woman lifts three gilded stars into the sky. They stand for Latvia's three historical regions: Kurzeme, Vidzeme and Latgale.

The monument's story turned dark fast. Five years after the unveiling, Soviet tanks were rolling past it. Under Soviet rule, laying flowers here was banned, and the authorities even discussed pulling the monument down. In the end they tried to rewrite its meaning, claiming the three stars stood for three Soviet Baltic republics.

People remembered the real story. On 14 June 1987, the human rights group Helsinki-86 laid flowers at the base for the victims of Soviet deportations. It was a brave act for the time, and it helped spark the awakening that led Latvia back to independence a few years later.

The monument sits outdoors in the middle of Riga, so you can walk up to it at any time, day or night, for free. It's a two-minute stroll from the Old Town on one side and the green Bastejkalns park on the other. Give yourself 15 to 20 minutes to circle the base and read the figures, and it fits easily into a wider walk through the centre.

A guard of honour keeps watch every day from 10:00 to 16:00, and the guards change on the hour. They stand perfectly still, but they are people too. The guard is stood down when it drops below -10°C, climbs above +25°C, or a gale is blowing. Keep a respectful distance, and don't step over the low chains around the base.