Riga Attractions

Albert Street
One of the streets of Riga is tacitly recognized as an open-air museum - all its buildings, most of which were erected at the beginning of the last century in just two years, are an ideal example of the embodiment of Art Nouveau. This street was formed and built up in honor of the 700th anniversary of the founding of Riga, and it got its name from the city's founder, Bishop Albert. All buildings of the street are decorated in the same style - German Art Nouveau, called "Jugendstil". This is a very artsy style with a lot of intricate decorative elements located on the facades.

House with black cats
An unusual house with two figures of cats crowning a gabled roof was built at the beginning of the last century and belonged to a merchant who was very eager to join the Great Guild. But since he was not accepted, the cunning merchant decided in revenge to hoist metal cats on the roof of his house and turn their backs to the building where the Great Guild was located. After a while, the sly one was accepted into the guild, and he turned one of the cats around. Since then, two cats on the roof have looked in different directions, and the house of the Black Cats has become a famous landmark.

House of the Blackheads
Directly opposite the City Hall is another interesting place, one of the most beautiful buildings in Riga. This is the House of the Blackheads of the 14th century, and the unusual name was assigned to it when the trade guild began to rent the house. Since traveling to buy goods in other countries was an unsafe occupation, the most risky people were in the guild, and a black-skinned saint - Mauritius - was chosen as their symbolic "patron", hence the name - the Blackheads Guild. The modern building is a remake, erected already in the 90s of the last century in the style typical for the cities of Northern Europe.

City Hall
Historically, the first building of the town hall was erected in the 13th century immediately after the city acquired the rights to an independent policy. Since then, it has been repeatedly changed and completed, and as a result of the military events of 1941, it almost completely turned into ruins, only some fragments of the facade survived. Only starting from the 90s of the 20th century, restoration work started, and since 2003 we can see the new town hall building, which is essentially a restored copy of the old one, today the Riga City Council is located there.

Riga Castle
Turning to a detailed overview of the historical monuments of the Old Town, it is worth starting with the most significant cultural site - the Riga Castle. The medieval fortress, located on the very bank of the Daugava, had its own difficult fate. Initially, it belonged to the Livonian Order, later it was defeated by the troops of Ivan the Terrible and fell into disrepair. Subsequently, there was a residence of rulers from Sweden, Poland and even Russia, and everyone remade the building according to their needs. Today, the castle is the residence of the Latvian president, and museum exhibitions are held in some of its halls.

Old town
Nowhere in Riga can you feel the atmosphere of the Middle Ages so clearly as in its historical quarter - the Old Town. In each of its ancient buildings, architecture, traditional for Northern Europe, can be traced. All the charm of the Old Town can be felt by visiting at least some of its attractions, whether it be a cathedral, a castle or a monument, walking along its narrow and intricate cobbled streets and relaxing in one of the coziest cafes.