Albert of Riga
Albert of Riga | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Riga | |
Albert of Riga, copy of a sculpture by Karl Hans Bernewitz on the cloister wall of Riga Cathedral | |
| Native name | Albert von Buxthoeven |
| Predecessor | Berthold of Hanover |
| Successor | Nikolaus von Nauen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1165 Bexhövede, Lower Saxony, Germany |
| Died | 17 January 1229 |
Albert of Riga or Albert of Livonia (c. 1165 – 17 January 1229) was the third Catholic Bishop of Riga in Livonia. As the Bishop of Livonia, in 1201, he founded Riga, the modern capital city of Latvia, and the city was later made a bishopric. The building of the Riga Cathedral started during his tenure there in 1221.
Albert headed the armed forces that forcibly converted the pagan indigenous population of the eastern Baltic region to Christianity as a result of the Northern Crusades.