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His great glass hill now dominates the west bank of the Daugava river, and is perhaps the key architectural expression of Latvia’s independence from Soviet rule.

The island of Zakusala, in Riga’s Daugava river, emerged as the likeliest site.

“For the first time we’re worried about our future, our kids,” said Ivars Aboltins, 41, a civil engineer who brought his family to the banks of the Daugava River on Friday to watch a military parade marking the holiday.

The white-washed interior walls of a 200-year-old former grain warehouse where the reporters work are cut with faceted windows overlooking the Daugava River and the sun-splashed plains east of Riga.

Goodbye to images of sailing ships and maidens, oak trees and the Daugava River.