Cat House Portal - Riga, Latvia
N 56° 57.012 E 024° 06.504
35V E 324137 N 6315563
The famous Cat House in Riga, Latvia, has an elaborate Art Nouveau portal surrounding its main entrance.
Waymark Code: WMPK1K
Location: Latvia
Date Posted: 09/10/2015
Views: 9
"The Cat House (Latvian: Kaku nams) is a building situated at 10 Meistaru iela in the old town of Riga, the capital of Latvia. It was built in 1909 according to the blueprint of architect Friedrich Scheffel. The building is styled as medieval architecture with some elements of Art Nouveau. It is known for the two cat sculptures, with arched backs and raised tails, on its roof. It is said that the owner of the house wanted the cats to be placed with their tails turned towards the house of the Great Guild, which is nearby, as he held a grudge against its members. It was later ordered that the cats should be turned so as to face the guildhouse.
Legend of the cats
The legend known by most Rigans, which is also told to tourists, comes in at least two versions. One version of the legend has it that the wealthy tradesman who commissioned the building was refused membership of the Riga Tradesmen's Guild, mostly just called the Great Guild. The central element of both versions is the anecdote that seeking retribution the tradesman had two copper statues of angry-looking cats with arched backs and raised tails placed on the turret rooftops with their tails turned towards the house of the Great Guild, situated across the street.
The other and perhaps older version of the cat legend has it that the wealthy tradesman placed the two statues of angry-looking cats on the building turret rooftops with their tails towards the Riga Town Hall, following a dispute with Riga City Council, after which he encouraged the erection of the building. The Riga Town Hall at the time was in the same direction as the Great Guild, but it burned down during World War II, was demolished in 1954 and only rebuilt in the very same place between 2000—01."
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"The architectural and artistic answer to the literary Modernist movement that began in the late 19th century was the Art Nouveau movement in Europe. The Art Nouveau movement reached its peak in the early 20th century, which is when the majority of Riga's Art Nouveau houses were built, beginning in 1899. Riga's term for the movement, Jugendstil, comes from the German and Scandinavian movement named after the avant-garde periodical Jugend ("Youth"). Unlike the stiffer sensibilities of Victorian style, Art Nouveau stressed a complete creative freedom, mixing fantastic elements with a tendency to show all utilitarian construction elements as artistic value, with very characteristic elements such as dynamic, undulating, and flowing lines and geometrical ornaments. In Riga, Art Nouveau could be split into two main directions, decorative and romantic-nationalistic Art Nouveau."
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