Art nouveau in Riga

The historic centre of Riga boasts the largest collection of art nouveau buildings in Europe. UNESCO actually considers it to be unparalleled in the world! The best thing I can suggest to take on your visit to Riga is a good pair of shoes because you're gonna do A LOT of walking !! The streets are paved with giant cobblestones and are pretty uneven so I don't recommend stilettos. And don't forget to look up - most of the beautiful details are up high.

Between 1896 and 1913, the city expanded and a housing boom followed. The style which developed in Riga was influenced mainly by German, Austrian and Finnish architects. Mikhail Eisenstein is one of the most famous proponents of the style in Riga.

After the revolution of 1905 a distinctively Latvian variation of art nouveau developed, known as national romanticism. Architects started to use traditional Latvian folk elements and natural building materials. Typical elements were steep roofs, heavy structures and the use of ethnographic ornamental motifs. There are LOADS of lovely flower, plant and animal details, actually way too many to represent here in photos but you get the idea.

Alli xxx