The spectacular spiral staircase inside the Riga Art Nouveau Center, a museum. (Aug. 3, 2022)
It takes seeing something and experiencing it to feel a connection. I feel a connection to Art Nouveau. I like the color and stylizations or how beautifully eclectic it can be. At any rate, I had no idea Riga, Latvia, was home to a bevy of Art Nouveau architecture, a reason why in 1997, Riga became a UNESCO World Heritage Site emphasizing its high concentration of Art Nouveau style buildings in Europe.
It turned out to be a sunny day, but after spending the morning with three of my Intrepid Travel members, Sara, Rita and Laura, I decided to get my walk on and check out more of Riga’s Art Nouveau buildings. And, from what I read, Albert and Elizabetes Streets were the places to go. Albert Street was named after Bishop Albert who founded Riga in 1201 and is a love letter to its Eclectic Art Nouveau buildings. Most of the buildings were designed by Mikhail Osipovich Eisenstein; some by Konstantīns Peksens and Eizens Laube, an architectural student at the time.
Eisenstein (1867-1920), a Russian born civil engineer and architect worked in Riga when it was part of the Soviet Union. He was active as an architect in the city at a time of great economic expansion which also coincided with the flourishing of Art Nouveau architecture. The work for which Eisenstein is most well-known are a set of buildings on and near Alberta Street built between 1901 and 1906.
What is Art Nouveau architecture? In a simplistic answer, it is a late 19th and early 20th century aesthetic movement that broke from tradition to create highly stylized designs influenced by the natural world and by using a variety of decorative elements like sculptures, decorative wrought iron, columns and more.
The only building I was able to enter to appreciate the interior decorative Art Nouveau touches was at the Riga Art Nouveau Center, a museum, that maintains and promotes the cultural and historical heritage of Art Nouveau.
Let’s check out Riga’s Art Nouveau buildings most of which were built from between 1904 and 1914 during a period of rapid economic growth.
The Riga Art Nouveau Center is a museum that maintains and promotes the cultural and historical heritage of Art Nouveau. The building of the museum at Alberta Street 12 was built in 1903 as a private house of the famous Latvian architect Konstantins Peksens who designed it together with Eizens Laube, an architectural student at the time. (Aug. 3, 2022)The spectacular spiral staircase inside the Riga Art Nouveau Center, a museum. (Aug. 3, 2022)A close-up of the art on the spectacular spiral staircase inside the Riga Art Nouveau Center, a museum. (Aug. 3, 2022)Inside the Riga Art Nouveau Center, a museum. (Aug. 3, 2022)Inside the Riga Art Nouveau Center, a museum. (Aug. 3, 2022)Inside the Riga Art Nouveau Center, a museum. (Aug. 3, 2022)Inside the Riga Art Nouveau Center, a museum. (Aug. 3, 2022)Inside the Riga Art Nouveau Center, a museum. (Aug. 3, 2022)This Art Nouveau building on Elizabetes Street, designed by Michael Eizenstein, was constructed in 1905. Since 1993, the building, was donated by the Latvian Government to the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga. It was formerly used as an apartment building, and to house successive Latvian, German, Estonian and Russian schools. From 1957-93 it was used as a student hostel. (Aug. 3, 2022)Another view of the Stockholm School of Economics building in Riga. This Art Nouveau building on Elizabetes Street was constructed in 1905 and designed by Michael Eizenstein. (Aug. 3, 2022)A close-up of an external ornament on the Art Nouveau architectural design on the Stockholm School of Economics building on Elizabetes Street. Constructed in 1905, the building was and designed by Michael Eizenstein. (Aug. 3, 2022)Art Nouveau architecture along Elizabetes Street in Riga. (Aug. 3, 2022)Art Nouveau architecture along the Elizabetes Street in Riga. (Aug. 3, 2022)A close-up of the architectural elements of this Art Nouveau building along the Elizabetes Street in Riga. (Aug. 3, 2022)Art Nouveau architecture along the Albert Street in Riga. (Aug. 3, 2022)Representing another Mikhail Eisenstein design is this Ecclectic Decorative Art Nouveau style building on Albert Street 2a in Riga. It was built in 1906. (Aug. 3, 2022)A close-up of the Art Nouveau building on Albert Street 2a in Riga. It was built in 1906 and designed by Mikhail Eisenstein. (Aug. 3, 2022)A close-up of the Art Nouveau building on Albert Street 2a in Riga. It was built in 1906 and designed by Mikhail Eisenstein. (Aug. 3, 2022)A close-up of the Art Nouveau building on Albert Street 2a in Riga. It was built in 1906 and designed by Mikhail Eisenstein. (Aug. 3, 2022)This Art Nouveau building on Albert Street 4 is another architectural design by Mikhail Eisenstein and was built in 1904. (Aug. 3, 2022)Here’s something a little different, at Albert Street 11 in Riga, said to be from another well-known Latvian architect, Eižens Laube (1880–1967) who had worked with Konstantīns Peksens as an architectural student and as a teacher. (Aug. 3, 2022)One of the most stunning Art Nouveau buildings is the Amphora, designed by Mikhail Eisenstein on Elizabetes Street 10b in Riga, with its female faces peering out of the top, was built in 1903. (Aug. 3, 2022)The stunning Art Nouveau Amphora building, designed by Mikhail Eisenstein on Elizabetes Street in Riga, with its female faces peering out of the top, was built in 1903. (Aug. 3, 2022)The stunning Art Nouveau Amphora building, designed by Mikhail Eisenstein on Elizabetes Street 10b in Riga, with its female faces peering out of the top, was built in 1903. (Aug. 3, 2022)The stunning Art Nouveau Amphora building, designed by Mikhail Eisenstein on Elizabetes Street in Riga, with its female faces peering out of the top, was built in 1903. (Aug. 3, 2022)This incredible Art Nouveau building on Elizabetes Street 33 in Riga was designed by Mikhail Eisenstein and built in 1901. This was his first attempt to Art Nouveau ornamental motifs that had just come into fashion at the turn of the 20th century. Among the applied adornments here are certain decorative masks, stylized plants and geometric forms, typical of Art Nouveau, brought together in a saturated, rhythmic and eclectic overall composition. (Aug. 3, 2022)A close-up of the incredible Art Nouveau building on Elizabetes Street 33 in Riga that was architect Mikhail Eisenstein’s first attempt to use Art Nouveau ornamental motifs that had just come into fashion at the turn of the 20th century. Among the applied adornments here are certain decorative masks, stylized plants and geometric forms, typical of Art Nouveau, brought together in a saturated, rhythmic and eclectic overall composition. This gorgeous corner building was built in 1901. (Aug. 3, 2022)A close-up of the incredible Art Nouveau building on Elizabetes Street 33 in Riga that was architect Mikhail Eisenstein’s first attempt to use Art Nouveau ornamental motifs that had just come into fashion at the turn of the 20th century. Among the applied adornments here are certain decorative masks, stylized plants and geometric forms, typical of Art Nouveau, brought together in a saturated, rhythmic and eclectic overall composition. This gorgeous corner building was built in 1901. (Aug. 3, 2022)A close-up of the incredible Art Nouveau building on Elizabetes Street 33 in Riga that was architect Mikhail Eisenstein’s first attempt to use Art Nouveau ornamental motifs that had just come into fashion at the turn of the 20th century. Among the applied adornments here are certain decorative masks, stylized plants and geometric forms, typical of Art Nouveau, brought together in a saturated, rhythmic and eclectic overall composition. This gorgeous corner building was built in 1901. (Aug. 3, 2022)A close-up of the incredible Art Nouveau building on Elizabetes Street 33 in Riga that was architect Mikhail Eisenstein’s first attempt to use Art Nouveau ornamental motifs that had just come into fashion at the turn of the 20th century. Among the applied adornments here are certain decorative masks, stylized plants and geometric forms, typical of Art Nouveau, brought together in a saturated, rhythmic and eclectic overall composition. This gorgeous corner building was built in 1901. (Aug. 3, 2022)
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