Riga Jugendstil, Saturday 13 December, 2014

Riga is famous for its imany houses build in Jugendstil. Art Nouveau or Jugendstil is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art - especially the decorative arts - that was most popular during 1890 — 1910 Jugendstil is a reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it was inspired by natural forms and structures, not only in flowers and plants, but also in curved lines. Architects tried to harmonize with the natural environment.

Elizabetes Street 10b is rich in its ornamentation – masks, peacocks, sculptured heads and geometric figures, with blue ceramic tiles covering the façade at the top of the building. This façade was designed by two architects in Leipzig. The building and its ornate stairwell were restored in 2000.

Sculptured heads and geometric figures at the top of the façade of Elizabetes Street 10b

Alberta Street 1 is one of the very first Art Nouveau buildings in Rīga, with a façade that is richly decorated with a series of reliefs representing the ornamentation of the new style.

The Boguslavskiy apartment building, Alberta Street 2a One of the last eclectically decorated Art Nouveau buildings to be erected in Rīga. There are two sphinxes at the entrance to provide security for it. Art Nouveau often made use of Egyptian motifs. The sphinx was particularly popular, seen as a symbol of the sun and of security. The decorations of the building use geometric and stylised ornaments. Two sculptures of women with torches in hand are on either side of the entrance. The façade is accented with bands of glazed red tiles. The building has an attic which is needed only for the placement of decorative elements – window apertures through which the sky can be seen, mascarons and various geometric ornaments.