The capital of Latvia, Riga is the largest & (IMHO) the grandest city in the Baltics. Its Old Town has great charm with many medieval buildings, but it also has the largest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture anywhere in the world. I am always taken with that individual style of buildings & interiors – so inventive.
The “Three Brothers”
The story that these three houses were built by three merchant brothers is obviously false
as they were built between the 15th – 17th centuries
021 Old Warehouse A
A typical old warehouse converted into stylish flats
019 Jacob’s Barracks Bldg with Latvian Parish Coats of Arms A
Jacob’s Barracks with Latvian Parish Coats of Arms
020 Powder Tower Riga A
The 17th century Powder Tower housed – you guessed it gunpowder.
The original narrow entrance was 5 metres up from the ground.
032 Blackheads House
The original Blackheads House was built in the 14th century.
It was badly damaged in WWII so the Russians decided to flatten the whole area.
So once the country gained independence
they rebuilt the whole complex from the surviving blueprints.
034 Blackheads House
Reconstructed interior of the Blackheads House
053 Riga Cathedral A
Riga Cathedral is the largest Medieval building in the Baltics
055 Riga Cathedral
The huge ornate organ may well have saved Riga Cathedral from the Russians
as the building was used for music recitals.
056 Riga Cathedral side chapel
What is a copy of Raphael’s Transfiguration doing here in a side chapel in a Lutheran cathedral?
The Freedom Monument
The Freedom Monument honouring the soldiers killed in the Latvian War of Independence, 1918 – 1920, is a significant symbol of the city & country. Completed in 1935. When the Russians occupied the country they seriously considered tearing it down, but feared it might cause a backlash & an uprising. The building lower right in the photo is the Radisson Hotel whose cocktail bar on the top floor gives fantastic views of the city.
Tranquil canal by the Freedom Monument
The Latvian Parliament – built in an Italianate Renaissance style (why?)
The Museum of Occupation housed in a stark Soviet era building. Some of the exhibits & first hand accounts are particularly harrowing.
The Art Nouveau Buildings
000 Art Deco Riga A
Isaiah Berlin spent the first years of his life in this building – Alberta iela 2a
024 The Cat House Riga
The Cat House. The owner was slighted by the City Guild House opposite,
so topped his own building with two cats defecating towards the Guild.
Taken to court in 1910 he could keep the metal sculptures
on condition they were turned away from the Guild House.
028
P1070561 A
100 Alberta Street
029 Slovak Embassy Riga
The Slovak Embassy
025 Old Stock Exchange
The Old Stock Exchange
039 Art Deco Riga A
041 Art Nouveau Centre
Musee Art Nouveau
043 Art Nouveau Centre
Musee Art Nouveau
P1070460 A
Musee Art Nouveau
City views from the top of the Radisson Hotel
Well you have to have a cocktail while you admire the views
Nativity of Christ Cathedral
Latvian Academy of Sciences – reminiscent of Stalin’s Seven Sisters in Moscow
National Library of Latvia, opened in 2014 – distinctive shape
