Riga's Stunning Architecture

Davenning Shacharis In The Sun Lounge

In stark contrast to the accommodation of the previous day, for our Shacharis this morning we have been allocated the spledour of the Albert's top floor lounge which has a vista across the whole of Riga, the Albert being one of the tallest buildings in the area.

It also gives us a taste of what is to come later in the morning with our architectural tour of Riga.   We have deliberately included cultural as well as specifically Jewish elements on this trip and the morning has been set a side for a walking tour of Riga.

After a very full breakfast at Lechayim restaurant and with the weather obliging this time, we meet our guide. He is Ilya Lensky, a native of Riga who has studied at the University and currently manages the Jewish Museum.   His English is perfect and he warms us up with a general introduction to the Jews of Riga.

the Jews of Riga

Unlike many of the Polish cities we've visited on previous excursions, Riga has a vibrant community today of some 7,000 Jews.   Nevertheless the community is dwindling as young Jews seek pastures elsewhere, not least London - given the lack of language barrier (most Latvians we came across spoke good English).
The early history of Jewish Riga is worth exploring and in the 1920s it was the centre of the world Lubavitch movement.   Then came the war.

After the war, the Jewish population of Latvia grew but went down from from 28,000 in 1979 to 22,000 in 1989 - at that time 19,000 of them lived in Riga.

But when Latvia got its independence from the USSR in 1990, many Jews who arrived from the Soviet Union were denied automatic Latvian citizenship, as with anyone of any nationality who wasn't a Latvian citizen (or descendent of) until 1941.

This included children and grandchildren who were born in Latvia, as to the Latvian law citizenship is not determined by place of birth, but by having an ancestor who is a national or citizen of the state.

In public school, the compulsory use of Latvian affected many Jewish students, who spoke Russian as their primary language. But as Latvia sought to become a member of the EU (which is did in 2004), citizenship requirements were gradually relaxed and postwar residents could apply for Latvian citizenship.

Today, after a decade of mass emigration, around 9,000 Jews remain in Latvia, mostly in Riga.  There is also a high rate of intermarriage (around 40%).  Interestingy, Ilya refers to himself as a "professional Jew" (ie engaged in the service of the community).

city of culture

Rabbi Lewis & Rev Baigel
Take In The Tour

So we start on the tour.   Riga is not what I had expected.  It is actually a very beautiful city and its centre was put on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997.

And though the weather undoubtedly helps, a number of us can't help thinking this city could well be on the forward weekend away list!

We drive in the coach through some very elegant streets and alight upon the main square.   Ilya explains that although this looks quite antique, almost all of it us post war - having been ravaged during WWII bombardment. 

We head on into the throng of the old city, passing very many pretty and elegant stalls and buildings.

There is a debate in the party about entering Riga Catherdral.  After discussion, the party splits and Rabbi Lewis leads some for coffee and orange juice at a local cafe while others follow the guide into the Cathedral.

Then we have a tour of some stunning architectural buildings.  

Typical Eisenstein Building

There are examples of all architectural styles characteristic of Northern Europe in Riga, from Gothic to Modernism.  Many of the buildings we look at are from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, built to blend in with the old city which was built in the 14th century and much of which survived the war.

Our guide explains that many of the early 20th century buildings we see were designed by Mikhail Eisenstein.

Born in St Petersburg in 1867 he was a Baltic architect and civil engineer whose paternal grandparents were German Jews but he himself converted to Orthodox Christianity. His projects were characterized by decorative, odd-shaped windows, often with large female head shapes (which we see a number of examples of), bright glazed brick or ceramic plates, and glass and metal tiles.

One of the buildings was the birthplace of Isiah Berlin, the British Philisopher, and we're pleased to see that the inscription on the building plaque is in Latvian, English and Hebrew.