Riga, Latvia

Jugendstil and Latvian Dancing

Midday we docked in the Latvian capital Riga, the largest city of the Baltic Republics situated 15 km from the mouth of the Daugava River. Well informed on the medieval Hanseatic League by historian David Barnes and National Geographic photographer Sisse Brimberg, we were eager to encounter firsthand the grandeur of another ancient Baltic seaport, where Viking expeditions pursued their trade along the waterways as far as Constantinople.

From the 12th century German traders are recorded in Riga, and the Livs were gradually and sometimes forcefully Christianised. Founded in 1201, Riga witnessed the laying of the Cathedral cornerstone and the first minted coinage in the year 1211. As early as 1282 Riga became a member of the prestigious Hanseatic League, which fostered economic and political stability for centuries to come. Elaborately decorated buildings such as the House of the Black Heads (built 1334, reconstructed 1999) stand as proud reminders of medieval trading prosperity.

Riga is today a smart modern city proud of its heritage and its incomparable 800 buildings in Jugendstil or Art Nouveau style, a primary reason for its World Heritage listing. Flowers and vines, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images, cold beautiful maidens, elliptical windows and fanciful iron gratings are prevalent in this art style from the turn of the 20th century. Such noble buildings are side by side or scattered throughout the city, and they were besieged by our numerous camera and art lovers. One of the main reasons for this architectural flowering was Riga’s seaport prominence in the Russian Empire around 1900, and even today there is a prevalence of Russian speakers in the Latvian capital quite different from the countryside.

A performance by the Dzintarinš (Little Amber Pieces) Children’s Dance Troupe in the Neo-Gothic Great Guild Hall was a stunning display of youthful talent, teamwork and grace. Ranging in age from 3 – 18, these young dancers sparkled in their presentation of traditional Latvian folk dances… and warmed our hearts! Ensemble dances were presented in age groups according to skills and experience. The whirling stomping children were unforgettable in costumes of brilliant reds, orange and white, with flowers in the girls’ braids.

We also heard an exclusive organ recital in the Dome Cathedral of Riga.
Although the monumental romantic Walcha organ from 1884 is under restoration and scaffolding, the organist presented an impressive program of works by Franz Liszt, J.S. Bach, O. Lindberg and Cesar Franck, lending aural splendor to this great church and its purpose. There is a fine tradition of music in Riga, as witnessed by noontime organ recitals, as well as the ten evening concerts with organ or choir offered in the month of September. Like Sweden and Estonia, Latvia has remained predominantly Lutheran due to the lengthy Germanic influence, yet there was one particularly glorious onion-domed Russian Orthodox church in the city center.

The enormous central library is yet unfinished, but the opera season begins today. Both wooden houses from the 19th century and Jugendstil palaces await restoration, but Riga gives promise for renewed greatness in the coming decades. We all succumbed to Riga’s charms and hoped to return as we avidly shared our impressions over dinner aboard the Explorer.