My Ultimate Views of the Rich, Lush, Fabulous Art Nouveau Streets of Riga

My favorite city on this tour. Riga, Latvia. The Art Nouveau capital of Northern Europe and nicknamed “The Paris of the North.” This is an image post, words can’t do justice to the city’s beauty. Art Nouveau was an ornamental style that became popular throughout Europe and America between 1890 and 1910.

It was an attempt to break free of the restraints of earlier, more rigid, architectural styles. A time of freedom of expression for architects.

In general, the theme was back to nature – animals, plants and suns were most popular. But it was not long before there was a fusion between the building and its decoration.

The lines of the building often took the form of stalks of flowers or tendrils of vines. Accompanied by liberal combinations of materials such as ironwork, glass and ceramics some stunning buildings were created during this period.

The most prolific architect during this period, Konstantīns Pēkšēns designed two hundred and multi-storey brick buildings that were built in Riga. Every window decoration at 2, Smilšu Street is different and the windows are supported by sculpted upper bodies known as hermas. The title of Miss Riga was given to the female body considered the most beautiful stone woman in the city.

With so many things to do in Riga, it’s hard to put together a list of favourites. Here are just a few more reasons to love Riga:

• The Latvian National Museum of Art houses a staggering 52,000 works of art.
• Kalnciema Quarter, Riga’s creative quarter hosts weekly craft and farmer’s markets, open-air concerts, art exhibitions and movie nights. 
• Latvia’s National Library, the extraordinary ‘Castle of Light’ is home to centuries of secrets – catalogued in 13 storeys of books, resources, art and history. It is one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, and visitors will be enchanted by legends of princesses and ‘castles of light’.

Visit Latvia!