Anno 1869: "Sakta" building at corner of Merķeļa Street and Brīvības Street in city core of Riga, Latvia. November 18, 2021
In 1868/69, this building was designed by the architect Heinrich Karl Schell for the Krüger family, well-known Riga builders, and it had a magnificent front garden on the Merkel Street side. In 1869, Franke's café-restaurant and Johann von Manteifel's photo studio were the first to open, and later other cafés and even a cinema appeared. The owners of the house changed several times in the following decades, but for the longest time, it was owned by the prominent von Tranze-Rozeneck family, a member of the Vidzeme knighthood. After the Soviet occupation, the building was nationalised. In 1940, the Customs Department was housed there, and in 1941 it began to be used for the Economics and Law, and History and Philology faculties of the State University of Latvia (until 2009). During World War II, the building's stoker hid Jews who were lucky enough to escape the ghetto in the basement. The popular Sakta gift and souvenir shop was opened here in 1964, under the design of architect Joseph Goldenberg to rebuild the former perfumery and gift shop premises.
Anno 1869: "Sakta" building at corner of Merķeļa Street and Brīvības Street in city core of Riga, Latvia. November 18, 2021
In 1868/69, this building was designed by the architect Heinrich Karl Schell for the Krüger family, well-known Riga builders, and it had a magnificent front garden on the Merkel Street side. In 1869, Franke's café-restaurant and Johann von Manteifel's photo studio were the first to open, and later other cafés and even a cinema appeared. The owners of the house changed several times in the following decades, but for the longest time, it was owned by the prominent von Tranze-Rozeneck family, a member of the Vidzeme knighthood. After the Soviet occupation, the building was nationalised. In 1940, the Customs Department was housed there, and in 1941 it began to be used for the Economics and Law, and History and Philology faculties of the State University of Latvia (until 2009). During World War II, the building's stoker hid Jews who were lucky enough to escape the ghetto in the basement. The popular Sakta gift and souvenir shop was opened here in 1964, under the design of architect Joseph Goldenberg to rebuild the former perfumery and gift shop premises.