House of the Blackheads
Reconstructed guild house on Town Hall Square, with historic cellars and a concert hall
A merchants' meeting and banqueting house stood on Riga's Town Hall Square from 1334. From the later sixteenth century it was used by the Brotherhood of Blackheads, an association of unmarried foreign merchants whose patron was St Maurice, and its Dutch Renaissance facade with an ornate stepped gable, astronomical clock and figures of Neptune, Mercury, Unity and Peace became the best-known frontage in the city. German bombing in June 1941 wrecked the building, and Soviet authorities cleared the remains in 1948.
Reconstruction on the original foundations began in 1996 and the house reopened on 9 December 1999 for Riga's 800th anniversary, with the medieval cellars and vaulted rooms preserved beneath. It now works as a museum and event centre owned by the city: visitors tour the cellar archaeology, the historic rooms and displays on the brotherhood, while the Great Hall on the upper floor is used for chamber concerts, receptions and civic ceremonies. The Latvian president's offices occupied part of the building between 2012 and 2016.
Highlights
- Dutch Renaissance gable with astronomical clock and mythological figures
- Medieval cellars surviving beneath the reconstructed house
- Great Hall used for chamber concerts and civic occasions
- Rebuilt in 1999 for the 800th anniversary of Riga
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