About this experience
Riga's architecture deserves no less attention than its history. After all, the buildings are just as equal citizens as we are. Art Nouveau in Riga, also known as Jugendstil, is both bright and rich in decorative elements, and strict in the form of national romanticism. Join me on this tour to enter an open-air architecture museum, hear the history of the city's most beautiful districts, and learn about the famous architects and their creations.
Program
We will walk along Albert and Elizabetes streets. You will learn why the most beautiful streets of the city were named after certain individuals. Here, we will encounter 'guests from Holland,' representatives of mysterious Gothic, and strict classicism.
I will introduce you to the works of such remarkable masters as M. Eisenstein, K. Peksens, P. Mandelstam. It is hard to imagine today that the houses created by Mikhail Eisenstein on Albert Street, with the brightest and most colorful examples of Jugendstil at the beginning of the 20th century, were considered examples of bad taste and 'wasted material.'
Strolling through the streets of New Riga, you can collect a whole stone zoo. There are cats, dogs, bears, lions, peacocks... Dragons, Valkyries, Gorgons can also be found here. I will tell you how they ended up on the facades and roofs of the houses.
And if you get tired or cold, we will stop by a cozy cafe for a cup of authentic Riga coffee with a real Riga pastry. It is then that you will truly immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the beginning of the last century.
