Spikeri quarter, Lastadia, Warehouse quarter... The urban quarter of Riga has changed its name more than once, but it has always remained the largest storage place for various materials. It was first mentioned in the middle of the 14th century. Then it consisted of just a few streets with small shacks inhabited by escaped serfs, merchants, and boatmen, and the most swampy lands were occupied by warehouses and taverns.

Starting from the 15th century, most of the warehouses were used to store timber. Thus, the quarter began to be overgrown with wooden residential buildings and craft workshops, schools and churches appeared. Spikeri quarter reached its peak by the middle of the 19th century. That's when the main buildings, which have survived to this day, appeared. Talented architects Johann Daniel Felsko and Otto Dietze were responsible for the appearance of the quarter that stretched from Turgenev Street along the Spikeri promenade. Their project provided for the construction of a quarter with warehouses of a single shape in one color palette, for which the historical complex of 58 buildings received another name, "Red Sheds".

The warehouses did not perform their original function for long: they finally lost their significance already at the beginning of the 20th century. Some of them were rebuilt into residential houses, some were destroyed, and those that remained intact were transformed into Spikeri creative quarter. Today, Riga's quarter with its old red barns is no less famous than the Dutch Red-light district. But unlike Amsterdam, tourists can come here with children.

Nowadays, the former warehouses are home to restaurants and souvenir shops, art galleries, museums and exhibitions, creative workshops, and centers for contemporary culture. Spikeri quarter has been chosen by photographers of well-known periodicals and popular instabloggers. Photoshoots against the background of 19th-century brick buildings turn out to be incredibly impressive and very colorful.