Pokrov cemetery

Pokrov cemetery, Riga - darkometer rating : 3 - A cemetery, or strictly speaking two cemeteries, north of Riga city centre. Apart from being quite atmospheric in themselves, the main reason for dark tourists to head out here is a marvellous Soviet relic (a golden soldier!) as well as some grand old mausoleums now in enchanting states of dereliction. > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos What there is to see: Coming from the south, the first part of this unusual double site that you will come to is the Orthodox Pokrov cemetery proper. Here you'll see plenty of headstones in Cyrillic as well as a few Latvian ones (including a couple of recent celebrity newcomers on this pitch). On the eastern side is a war memorial. In the centre stands a typical Orthodox chapel (a brand new Orthodox church lies just south of the cemetery). But the key attraction to the curious dark tourist coming to this place is the section with the Soviet war graves to the north of the chapel. And overlooking them all is an exceptionally noteworthy Soviet relic: a gold soldier statue. This is a classic socialist-realist depiction of a Red Army soldier, but completely plated in gold. He's the usual keen type of wild-eyed, forward-marching soldier, long coat flying behind him, and with a machine gun in one hand and a big flag in the other. And yes, the flag has the hammer-and-sickle symbol of the Soviet Union in it, albeit also all in gold rather than the usual red and yellow.