Beautiful women, demonic figures all part of Riga's Art Nouveau style

By Nina C Zimmermann Nov 8, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Riga - No other city in the world is as influenced by the German Art Nouveau or Jugendstil architectural style as Riga, where around 800 such buildings have survived in the Latvian capital.

Alberta iela (Albert Street), named after the historical founder of Riga, Bishop Albert, and the neighbouring Elizabetes iela are the location for some of the grandest houses ever built in the style. One richly decorated house after another leaves visitors in awe.

'There is no other city in the world where Art Nouveau has so affected the cityscape,' says tour guide Gita Vigule as she takes her group around the city centre to enjoy the hundreds of buildings from this era.

A house on Smilsu iela in the heart of the old city is Vigule's perfect example from this symbolically rich period. The peacock on the building's facade is meant to depict prosperity - the city was a long-time member of the Hanseatic League of European trading cities.

As wealth generally has to be earned through hard work, the squirrel on the facade symbolises diligence. The figures of a man and woman with bare upper bodies and holding up the alcoves on the second floor have a much more interesting story.

The woman was voted the most beautiful stone figure in the city, explains Vigule. 'It's said that nowhere has as many naked women as Riga.'

This impression is confirmed with a walk along Alberta iela, a small street in the northern part of the old city which is considered the jewel in Riga's Art Nouveau architectural crown. The street is the ideal location to study the different styles that developed in Latvia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

House number 2a, which is flanked by two sphinxes, is a good example of the Decorative Art Nouveau style. The building has two monumental figures gracing its facade, one bearing a victory laurel wreath and the other a victory torch.

Number 11 on the other side of the street is a perfect example of the so-called National Romanticism style. The building is reminiscent of the Latvian timber style with square alcoves and traditional ornamentation.

The third typically Latvian style is called Vertical Art Nouveau due to its emphasis on vertical lines. A good example is number 8, which was designed in 1903 by Mihails Eizensteins. The building's blue and white facade is rhythmically divided by pilasters, which are adorned with expressive female head masks. The windows are decorated with monster masks to protect the occupants.

The Hungarian embassy with its noticeable second-floor oval window is situated a few metres further on while the corner house at number 12 has a stunning five-story staircase set out in the shape of an asymmetrical oval and decorated with pine needles and cones.

The Riga Art Nouveau Museum is located in the building's ground floor. Each room is decorated with fresh flowers while there is an authentically furnished room from 1903 with floral elements from Latvian nature. For example, the blue-painted living room has stylised daisies, the green fireplace room is decorated with angular chestnut leaves, while the ceiling of the terracotta-painted dining room is bedecked with pine cones.