A good example of Riga Art Nouveau architecture in its
combination of rationality and decoration is this building on Smilšu iela 2 by
Konstantīns Pēkšēns (1902)
Art Nouveau architecture in Riga
makes out roughly one third of all buildings in the centre of Riga, making the Latvian capital the city
with the highest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture anywhere in the
world. Built during a period of rapid economic growth, most of the Art Nouveau
buildings of Riga
date from between 1904 and 1914. The style is most commonly represented in
multi-storey apartment buildings.
Background
At the end of the 19th century, the old Hanseatic town and
seaport of Riga
was an important city in the Russian Empire. It was a period of rapid economic,
industrial and demographic development. Between 1897 and 1913, the city grew
with 88% to a population of 530 000 in 1914. By that time, it was the fifth
largest city in the Russian Empire and the third largest city in the Baltic
region. This was the highest growth rate of the city so far experienced.
Already in the middle of the 19th century, the city had
begun to expand beyond its medieval core, which was surrounded by
fortifications. These were torn down, beginning in 1856, and replaced with a
belt of boulevards and gardens surrounding the old town of Riga. The new part of the city was developed
along a grid pattern and following strict building regulations (stating, for
example, that no house could be taller than six storey's or 21.3 meters "70 ft",
thus creating a large degree of urban coherence. Between 1910 and 1913, between
300 and 500 new buildings were built each year in Riga, most of them in Art Nouveau style and
most of them outside the old town. Still, a number of Art Nouveau buildings
were erected in the old town of Riga,
as well as several single-family homes in the suburb of Mežaparks. Indeed, the
very first Art Nouveau building to be erected in Riga "to designs by
architects Alfred Aschenkampff and Max Schwerinsky" lies on Audēju iela 7 "Audeju
street" in the medieval part of the city. It is however the part of the
city centre which lies outside the ring of boulevards which is were the vast
majority of Art Nouveau architecture in Riga
can be found.
The owners, builders and architects of these houses came
from a variety of different ethnic groups; among these the first ethnic
Latvians to reach such levels in society. Apart from Latvian architects "among
the most well represented are Eižens Laube, Konstantīns Pēkšēns and Jānis
Alksnis" there were also Jewish "Mikhail Eisenstein, Paul Mandelstamm"
and Baltic German "among them Bernhard Bielenstein, Rudolph Dohnberg and Artur
Moedlinger" architects working during this period in Riga. During this
time of a developing Latvian national identity, a relatively small number of
the architects were ethnic Latvians "with Latvian as their first language",
but they designed nearly 40% of all new buildings in Riga in the early 20th century. An increasing
number of the house owners were also Latvian, rather than German- och
Russian-speaking. Regardless of their ethnicity, most of the practitioners
creating the Art Nouveau architecture of Riga
were locals, although stylistically influenced by foreign architecture – mainly
from Germany, Austria and Finland. Significant for this
development was the opening of the faculty of architecture at the Riga
Polytechnic Institute "today Riga
Technical University"
in 1869, which helped educate a generation of local architects.
The decorative details of the buildings, in the form of sculptures,
stained glass, majolica stoves and so on were partly imported and partly made
locally by companies in Riga.
In this regard, decorative arts companies from Riga also worked on a regional
market and products from Riga workshops were exported "within the Russian
Empire" to e.g. Tallinn and Saint Petersburg.
Today, Art Nouveau architecture makes out roughly one third
of all buildings in the centre of Riga,
making it the city with the highest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture
anywhere in the world. Roughly than one third of all buildings in Riga are in the Art
Nouveau style. The style is most commonly represented in multi-storey apartment
buildings.
Development
Art Nouveau developed from but also as a reaction against Eclecticism
and different Revivalist styles. Like Art Nouveau elsewhere, its development
was driven by a desire to create an individualistic style less dependent on
obvious historical references, a wish to express local traits and traditions
and a move towards a rational architecture based on an "honest" use
of materials and ornamentation which doesn't deny the structural layout of the
building.
Stylistically, the Art Nouveau architecture of Riga is often divided into
four main categories: Eclectic or
Decorative; Perpendicular or Vertical; National Romantic and lastly Neo-Classical. These categorizations are
not always mutually exclusive; many buildings display influences from several
different styles.
Eclectic Art Nouveau
The earliest Art Nouveau buildings in Riga were of this kind. Beginning as a purely
decorative change from Eclecticism, buildings of this type simply adopted new
forms of Art Nouveau decoration in lieu of earlier styles, but did little of
nothing to change earlier concepts of the structure of building as such. Eclectic Art Nouveau still displays the
rhythmic facades and opulent decoration of earlier styles. In this early form
of Art Nouveau, foreign influence was quite strong, especially from Germany, as was
influences from contemporary Symbolism. The arguably most famous Art Nouveau
houses in Riga, a row of houses along Alberta iela "Albert Street",
many to the design of Mikhail Eisenstein, are of this style. Though a major
tourist attraction, they are not representative of the vast majority of Art
Nouveau buildings in Riga.
Perpendicular Art Nouveau
Eclecticism eventually gave way to a more rationalist style
of Art Nouveau in Riga,
characterized by marked vertical compositions of the facades, and geometrical
ornaments integrated into the overall architectural composition. The structure
of the buildings also shifted into an essentially modern quality where the
exterior reflects the layout of the interior, rather than being a facade without
any rational connection with the structural layout of the building as was the
case earlier. Several department stores where built in this style, and it is
sometimes also referred to as Department
Store Style or Warenhausstil in German.
National Romantic Art Nouveau
The Latvian National Awakening which began in the 19th
century initiated a process of conscious formulation of a specific Latvian
identity, both politically and culturally. This, together with political
developments "especially the Revolution of 1905" led to a stronger
desire to express a specifically Latvian identity also through art and
architecture during the early 20th century. The National Romantic style is
sometimes considered an architectural style in its own right, but in Latvian
context often described as a variant of Art Nouveau. It was relatively
short-lived and flourished between 1905 and 1911. A certain amount of influence
came from Finnish architecture, but as the idea was to develop a specific
Latvian form of architecture, many of its aspects are particular for Latvian
architecture. It is a style characterized by restrained decoration inspired by
local folk art, monumental volumes and the use of natural building materials.
Neo-Classical Art Nouveau
The last stage of the development of Art Nouveau
architecture in Riga
is also the style least well represented, so-called Neo-Classical Art Nouveau.
Drawing on the language of Classical architecture which had been a prolific
style in the Russian Empire during the 19th century "but not common in Riga", this rather
monumental variant of Art Nouveau was used in several new bank buildings.
Gallery
Eclectic Art Nouveau:
A building on Alberta
iela by Mikhail Eisenstein. Although a popular tourist destination, this very
decorated kind of Art Nouveau is not typical for Riga.
Perpendicular Art
Nouveau: The present Ministry of Education, built in 1911 by architect E.
Friesendorff, has a so-called perpendicular facade with several sculptures by August
Volz.
National Romantic Art
Nouveau: Detail with typical National Romantic decoration on a house built
in 1908 by Konstantīns Pēkšēns.
Neo-Classical Art
Nouveau: Many buildings built for banks in Riga had Neo-Classical forms, such as this
one, built in 1913 to designs by Paul Mandelstamm.
Albert Street, Riga
Alberta iela
Alberta
iela 8 – 2
Namesake: Bishop Albert
Coordinates: 56.95904°N 24.109712°E
N56.95904, E24.109712
Albert Street
"Latvian: Alberta iela" is a street in Riga known for its Art
Nouveau buildings. It is named after Bishop Albert who founded Riga in 1201. Many of the apartment buildings
along the street were designed by the Russian architect Mikhail Eisenstein who
was particularly active in Riga
at the beginning of the twentieth century. The architectural style makes use of
structural and decorative elements of romantic nationalism common to northern Europe at the time. Konstantīns Pēkšēns and Eižens Laube,
a teacher and his pupil respectively, were prominent in building design on the
street at the same time. Since April 2009 Pēkšēns former residence at number 12
has housed the Riga Art Nouveau Museum. A number of institutions of higher
education are located on the street or adjacent; the Stockholm School of
Economics in Riga, the Riga
Graduate School of Law and the College
of Business Administration
(lv).
Photographs
Alberta
iela 2a
Alberta
iela 4
Alberta
iela 4 (detail)
Alberta
iela 8
Cat House in Riga
Coordinates: 56°57′0.67″N 24°6′30.33″E
N56.950186, E24.108425
The Cat House seen from the south
Angry-looking cat on turret rooftop
Cat House main entrance with Art Nouveau decorations
The Cat House "Latvian: Kaķu nams is a
building situated at 10 Meistaru iela in the old town of Riga,
the capital of Latvia.
It was built in 1909 according to the blueprint of architect Friedrich Scheffel.
The building is styled as medieval architecture with some elements of Art
Nouveau. It is known for the two cat sculptures, with arched backs and raised
tails, on its roof. It is said that the owner of the house wanted the cats to
be placed with their tails turned towards the house of the Great Guild, which
is nearby, as he held a grudge against its members. It was later ordered that
the cats should be turned so as to face the guildhouse.
Legend of the cats
The legend known by most Rigans, which is also told to
tourists, comes in at least two versions. One version of the legend has it that
the wealthy tradesman who commissioned the building was refused membership of
the Riga Tradesmen's Guild, mostly just called the Great Guild. The central
element of both versions is the anecdote that seeking retribution the tradesman
had two copper statues of angry-looking cats with arched backs and raised tails
placed on the turret rooftops with their tails turned towards the house of the
Great Guild, situated across the street.
The other and perhaps older version of the cat legend has it
that the wealthy tradesman placed the two statues of angry-looking cats on the
building turret rooftops with their tails towards the Riga Town Hall,
following a dispute with Riga City Council, after which he encouraged the
erection of the building. The Riga
Town Hall at the time was
in the same direction as the Great Guild, but it burned down during World War
II, was demolished in 1954 and only rebuilt in the very same place between 2000
and 2001.
Revised: 17 March 2016
