House with cats in Riga (Cat House)
Cat House in Riga is a remarkable building in the heart of the Old Town, which appeared here at the beginning of the last century. The two metal cats on its roof have turned the picturesque building into a legendary landmark of Riga, which all tourists coming to the Latvian capital try to see.
Highlights
The five-story building was erected in 1909 in the tradition of rational Art Nouveau, and was designed by architect Friedrich Scheffel. According to legend, the owner of the building, the wealthy landlord Blumer, could not become a member of the Riga Grand Guild, which included all of Riga’s wealthy merchants. Seeing that he could not get what he wanted, the annoyed Blumer ordered to decorate his new profitable house, built opposite the city’s Great Guild, in a special way.
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On the pointed towers, two expressive sculptures of cats with curved backs were placed on the roof of the building. The cats had their tails turned towards the office occupied by the elder of the eminent organization. Such an act of the landlord caused a big scandal in Riga, and the case went to court.
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According to the legend, which Riga tour guides like to tell tourists, several attempts were made to force the owner of the house to turn the unfortunate cats around. However, the latter was friendly with the judge, and the verdicts were always accompanied by a note that cats are freedom-loving animals and form part of Riga’s architectural heritage, so there was no need to turn their faces towards the Great Guild building. History has not preserved the circumstances when it was possible to make peace with the stubborn owner, but nowadays the sculptures of black cats are turned in the “right” direction.
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During the Soviet era, scientific organizations worked in the house. In addition, the picturesque building was filmed as the Berlin hotel “At the New Gate” in the popular movie “17 Moments of Spring”. Today, the first floor of the legendary building is occupied by the jazz restaurant “Carpe diem” (“Catch the Moment”) and the restaurant and casino “Melnais kaķis”, the name of which means “Black Cat” in Latvian.”
.Features of the architecture
The building itself and the towers decorating it are strictly symmetrical. On the upper part of the facade of the house with cats in Riga is placed a sculptural image of an eagle. Its open wings and skyward gaze symbolize freedom and the desire to achieve the goal at all costs.
.The entrance is decorated with stucco flowers and plant ornament, and above it one can see a masqueron in the form of a woman’s head. Higher up on the building is a projecting bay window. Apart from it, the house is decorated with arched windows, carved balconies and patterned cornices.
.How to get there
The House with Cats in Riga is located in the center of the Old Town, at 10/12 Meistaru Street. It is 1 km away from the city railway station, so it is not difficult to reach the building on foot.
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