Architecture that embodies the synthesis of the arts
For those who like the aesthetics of Art Nouveau (or Jugendstil) art and architecture, some of Riga’s streets may seem like a genuine paradise. More than 800 Art Nouveau buildings can be found in the city. Art Nouveau reached its full glory in the turn of the 20th century. Decorative gargoyles, nymphs, satyrs, lions, sphinxes, plants, masks and other elaborate elements grace the facades of the buildings. Riga’s Art Nouveau has been ranked among the most decorative representations of this style in the world.
“My father stretches out human profiles one-and-a-half storeys high to adorn the corners of the buildings. Women hold out their hands made from drainpipe iron, (...) with gold rings on their fingers. It was interesting to watch the rainwater flow down their perinea,” said the legendary film director Sergei Eizenstein born in Riga. He grew up in an Art Nouveau building designed by his father, Mihail Eizenstein (1867-1921), one of Riga’s best-known architects.
