Facade Detail, Art Nouveau District, Riga, Latvia
Art Nouveau architecture in Riga makes up roughly one third of all the buildings in the center of Riga, making Latvia's 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 Riga's Art Nouveau buildings date from between 1904 and 1914. The style is most commonly represented in multi-story apartment buildings.
Stylistic influences derived not least from Austria, Finland and Germany, while the establishment of a faculty of architecture in Riga in 1869 was instrumental in providing a local cadre of architects.
As elsewhere, the Art Nouveau movement in Riga was driven by a desire to express greater individuality, local attachment and a more rational kind of architecture than that which had dominated during the 19th century. Stylistically, the Art Nouveau architecture of Riga can be further divided into four different stages: Eclectic, Perpendicular, National Romantic; and Neo-Classical.
At the end of the 19th century, the old Hanseatic town and seaport of Riga was an important city in the Russian Empire which was enjoying a period of rapid economic, industrial and demographic development. Between 1897 and 1913, the city grew by 88%, reaching a population of 530,000 in 1914 and making it the fifth largest city in the Russian Empire and the third largest in the Baltic region. Its growth rate during this period was the highest the city had ever experienced.
By the middle of the 19th century, the city had begun to expand beyond medieval Riga, which was once surrounded by gates and walls. These were demolished between 1857 and 1863, and replaced with a belt of boulevards and gardens. The expanding city possessed urban coherence, as it developed along a grid pattern, following strict building regulations (which stated, for example, that no house could be taller than six storeys or 21.3 metres, 70 ft).
Between 1910 and 1913, 300 to 500 new buildings were built every year, mostly in the Art Nouveau style, and most of them outside the old town. Art Nouveau buildings were also built within the old town, and single-family homes were constructed in the suburb of Mežaparks. Riga's first Art Nouveau building, designed by the architects Alfred Aschenkampff and Max Scherwinsky and finished in 1899, lies on Audēju iela 7 (Audeju street) in the medieval part of the city, but the majority of Art Nouveau architecture in Riga can be found beyond the city center.
The owners, builders and architects of these houses came from a variety of different ethnic groups: among these were the first Latvians to receive formal training as architects. Architects working during this period in Riga included ethnic Latvians (among the most well represented being Eižens Laube, Konstantīns Pēkšēns and Jānis Alksnis), as well as architects from a Jewish background (Mikhail Eisenstein, Paul Mandelstamm) and Baltic Germans (such as Bernhard Bielenstein, Rudolph Dohnberg and Artur Moedlinger).
Some of the decorative details for these buildings, such as sculptures, stained glass and majolica stoves, were made locally by companies in Riga. Local decorative arts companies produced items for both their regional market and the Russian Empire, reaching destinations such as Tallinn and Saint Petersburg.
Today, Art Nouveau architecture accounts for one third of all the buildings in the center of Riga, making it the city with the highest concentration of such buildings anywhere in the world. The style is most commonly represented in multi-story apartment blocks.
Facade Detail, Art Nouveau District, Riga, Latvia
Art Nouveau architecture in Riga makes up roughly one third of all the buildings in the center of Riga, making Latvia's 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 Riga's Art Nouveau buildings date from between 1904 and 1914. The style is most commonly represented in multi-story apartment buildings.
Stylistic influences derived not least from Austria, Finland and Germany, while the establishment of a faculty of architecture in Riga in 1869 was instrumental in providing a local cadre of architects.
As elsewhere, the Art Nouveau movement in Riga was driven by a desire to express greater individuality, local attachment and a more rational kind of architecture than that which had dominated during the 19th century. Stylistically, the Art Nouveau architecture of Riga can be further divided into four different stages: Eclectic, Perpendicular, National Romantic; and Neo-Classical.
At the end of the 19th century, the old Hanseatic town and seaport of Riga was an important city in the Russian Empire which was enjoying a period of rapid economic, industrial and demographic development. Between 1897 and 1913, the city grew by 88%, reaching a population of 530,000 in 1914 and making it the fifth largest city in the Russian Empire and the third largest in the Baltic region. Its growth rate during this period was the highest the city had ever experienced.
By the middle of the 19th century, the city had begun to expand beyond medieval Riga, which was once surrounded by gates and walls. These were demolished between 1857 and 1863, and replaced with a belt of boulevards and gardens. The expanding city possessed urban coherence, as it developed along a grid pattern, following strict building regulations (which stated, for example, that no house could be taller than six storeys or 21.3 metres, 70 ft).
Between 1910 and 1913, 300 to 500 new buildings were built every year, mostly in the Art Nouveau style, and most of them outside the old town. Art Nouveau buildings were also built within the old town, and single-family homes were constructed in the suburb of Mežaparks. Riga's first Art Nouveau building, designed by the architects Alfred Aschenkampff and Max Scherwinsky and finished in 1899, lies on Audēju iela 7 (Audeju street) in the medieval part of the city, but the majority of Art Nouveau architecture in Riga can be found beyond the city center.
The owners, builders and architects of these houses came from a variety of different ethnic groups: among these were the first Latvians to receive formal training as architects. Architects working during this period in Riga included ethnic Latvians (among the most well represented being Eižens Laube, Konstantīns Pēkšēns and Jānis Alksnis), as well as architects from a Jewish background (Mikhail Eisenstein, Paul Mandelstamm) and Baltic Germans (such as Bernhard Bielenstein, Rudolph Dohnberg and Artur Moedlinger).
Some of the decorative details for these buildings, such as sculptures, stained glass and majolica stoves, were made locally by companies in Riga. Local decorative arts companies produced items for both their regional market and the Russian Empire, reaching destinations such as Tallinn and Saint Petersburg.
Today, Art Nouveau architecture accounts for one third of all the buildings in the center of Riga, making it the city with the highest concentration of such buildings anywhere in the world. The style is most commonly represented in multi-story apartment blocks.