Mangaļsala is the first part of the city that all ships pass when entering the Daugava. Stretching into the sea from Mangaļsala is a breakwater called the Eastern jetty, built in 1850-1861 under the personal supervision of the Czar himself.
The breakwater features memorial stones to Emperor Alexander II and his son Nikolay Alexandrovich's visits in 1856 and 1860. The stones were demolished in 1990's and now are immured in the Eastern jetty. Mangaļsala coastal forests contain sections of the river fortification complex.