- Address: Alberta iela 12, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1010, Latvia;
- Opened: in 2009;
- Website: jugendstils.riga.lv;
- Phone: +371 67 181 465;
- Work time: Tue. - Sun. from 10:00 to 18:00.
"Jugendstil" - German version of the name of the modernist style (Jugendstil - German "young style"). In Art Nouveau, about a third of the buildings in the center of Riga are built , that's why they say "Riga Art Nouveau". A whole museum is dedicated to this style in Riga.
What does Art Nouveau look like?
At the words "Riga Art Nouveau" there are luxuriously decorated facades, but in Art Nouveau, modest exterior buildings can be made. For them are characteristic bay windows, sculptures, stained-glass windows, geometric ornaments, folkloric motifs are present in the national-romantic flow of Art Nouveau. In Art Nouveau, mostly multi-storey apartment houses are built, most of which were built in 1904-1914. Distinctive features of Art Nouveau are the functionality of the location of rooms and the use of new materials.
Alberta Street in Riga
The Museum of Art Nouveau is located on the street. Alberta, which in itself is one great attraction. Eight buildings from here are monuments of national importance. The street was laid in 1901 in honor of the 700th anniversary of Riga and was built up in a short time. Most of the houses on it are made in the "decorative" variety of art nouveau designed by the famous Russian architect Mikhail Eisenstein. Such houses are richly decorated with stucco, ornaments, sculptures.
Museum of Art Nouveau
The Art Nouveau Museum was opened in Riga recently - in 2009. It is located in the apartment on the first floor of a private house, where until 1907 the famous Latvian architect Konstantin Pekšēns lived and worked. The house was built in 1903 according to the design of the architect and his student Eisen Laube.
Inside, a spiral staircase goes up (an impressive picture opens up from the bottom), and even a staircase is a work of art.
The interior of the apartment is restored to the smallest detail. Here you can find furniture, dishes, watches, embroidery, works of art and items from the Art Nouveau period. They can be seen, touched, picked up. The apartment has 10 rooms, all open to visitors: living room, dining room, kitchen, fireplace room, study, bedroom, exhibition room, bathroom, toilet, maid room (maid's room).
The museum exhibits thematic expositions and organizes interactive educational programs for children and adults. In the basement on the screens you can find the addresses of all Riga buildings made in Art Nouveau, and "design" the house of your dreams (the "architect" is given a printed plan of the house and a diploma).
There are ladies in costumes of the Art Nouveau period, and at the entrance you can choose your own hat or cylinder and then go to them through the museum.
How to get there?
The Art Nouveau Museum in Riga is located at ul. Alberta, 12 is not far from the city center. The museum can be reached by:
- by public transport, after reaching the Museum of the History of Medicine;
- on foot - the path from the Freedom Monument, for example, will take you 20 minutes.