Riga’s First Art Nouveau Building, Riga, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Riga's First Art Nouveau Building stands at Audēju iela 5 in the Old Town of Riga, Latvia. It was remodeled in the late 1890s for a book publisher named Grosets, and it is celebrated as the city's first step into the Art Nouveau style, which later shaped so much of Riga's look.

The story behind it

The Art Nouveau movement began in Brussels, where Tassel House was built in 1893. Six years later, according to the route creators, Riga produced its first building in the new style. Its owner, the publisher Grosets, commissioned a remodel that followed the latest fashion. That was a bold choice, because the style had barely started and was still unknown in Riga. It would not reach its peak until the first decade of the 20th century.

The building is known for its decoration drawn from native plants. The iris is the flower most associated with Art Nouveau. Its delicate shape and wavy lines suited the style well, and it appeared often in interiors and on china tableware. The iris is also named after the Greek goddess of rainbows, who was a messenger of love, and in this tradition it came to stand for faith, wisdom and promise in love.

What to look for

• Look for the floral ornament across the facade, which is the clearest sign of the new style arriving in Riga.
• Try to spot the iris, the flower most closely tied to Art Nouveau, and notice how its flowing outline matches the wavy lines of the decoration.
• Compare the soft, plant-inspired details with the older buildings on the same street to see how different the new fashion looked.
• Step back to the opposite side of the street to take in the whole front at once before you study the details up close.

Tips for your visit

• Give it five to ten minutes. This is a place to admire from the street and photograph, not a long stop.
• Visit in daylight, ideally when the sun is on the facade, so the ornament shows its relief.
• It sits in the Old Town, so many other sights are a short walk away and it fits easily into a wider stroll.
• The building is best enjoyed from outside. If you hope to see any interior, check current opening hours and access first.

See it on a quest

Riga's Art Nouveau is a good way to see this building in its context. You walk to it as one stop on a longer route through the area, the app tells you about the place when you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. That makes you look closely at the details instead of passing by. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You can start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join.