Riga was a major cen­tre of the Hanseat­ic League, deriv­ing its pros­per­i­ty in the 13th-15th cen­turies from the trade with cen­tral and east­ern Europe. The urban fab­ric of its medieval cen­tre reflects this pros­per­i­ty, though most of the ear­li­est build­ings were destroyed by fire or war. Riga became an impor­tant eco­nom­ic cen­tre in the 19th cen­tu­ry, when the sub­urbs sur­round­ing the medieval town were laid out, first with impos­ing wood­en build­ings in neo­clas­si­cal style and then in Jugend­stil . It is gen­er­al­ly rec­og­nized that Riga has the finest col­lec­tion of art nou­veau build­ings in Europe.