One of the most interesting things that Riga is famous for, and possibly also one of the most unexpected for a rather small city in the outskirts of Europe, is the huge collection of Art Nouveau architecture (also sometimes called Jugendstil). According to some sources, Riga has the highest concentration of these beautiful buildings in the world even! Up to one-third of all buildings in central Riga are built in this style. One particular street is known specifically for hosting several of the best examples of it, and that is Albert Street. In the local language, this street is known as Alberta iela and previously, when Riga's been under different flags, it's also been called Albertstrasse (German/Germany) and Альбертовская улица (Russian/Soviet Union). The meaning of the name has always been the same though and the translation into English has always been Albert Street. The street is named after Bishop Albert, or Albert of Riga, (c. 1165 - 1229) who is alleged to be the founder of Riga in 1201. The street was constructed in 1901, which shows that even in previous history people had a thing for centennial celebrations.

Bishop Albert and the foundation of Riga

Albert has several names; Albert of Riga, Bishop Albert, Albert of Livonia, Albert von Buxthoeven, and Alberts fon Buksthēvdens are just some of them. He was born in Bexhövede near present-day Bremerhaven, not far from Bremen and Hamburg in Northern Germany. As with many of the major events in this time period, the motivation behind his founding the city of Riga was religious. The area which today is Latvia was sparsely populated and not Christian yet. Albert got the mission to spread the Christian faith to the pagans and set out on several trips to fulfill that mission, beginning in 1199. He soon realized that he had to build a base near the Baltic sea to be able to reach inland using the Daugava River. That's when what today is Riga was first settled in 1201, situated where the Daugava meets the Baltic Sea. One of the first major buildings that were built was the Riga Cathedral which is still standing and visible in the left part of the picture to the right. In a way, it's quite telling that one of few buildings that are still for us today from this earliest period is the cathedral which they built considering that the motivation for everything was religion and converting the pagans.

Skyline of Riga

Art Nouveau and Albert Street

Art Nouveau is an architectural style that was first developed in Brussels in the 1890s and mainly spread from Belgium and France to the world in the years between 1890 and 1910, which would put the construction of Albert Street right in the middle of the time period. Characteristic features of Art Nouveau are detailed ornaments and an asymmetric design which often takes inspiration from nature in making the lines of the facade. In Riga I would however say that the inspiration from nature is missing, this is a feature more commonly found in cities like Barcelona. In Riga, the most striking feature of Art Nouveau is the ornaments which predominantly take inspiration from human faces. Many of the buildings on Albert Street were designed by the same man; the Russian architect Michail Eisenstein (1867 - 1921), so the human faces may be a personal trait for him. Not much is known about him and his life, despite him being the main architect for one of the highest concentrations of high-quality Art Nouveau buildings in the world. Today, Albert Street, apart from being a tourist attraction, also houses many institutions of higher education and embassies behind the old beautiful facades.

Albert Street

How to get there

If you're in Riga as a short-term visitor you'll likely have your hotel in Old Riga and Albert Street is not in that part of town. Luckily, the distance is not that far and there are also a few things you could see on the way there. Albert Street is located about one kilometer north of Old Riga and the shortest way to get there is following Kalpaka bulvāris until you get to Antonijas iela. You'll pass near a few sights, the two large parks Esplanāde and Kronvalda Park for example. I would recommend passing through the Independence Monument and then following Brīvības bulvāris up to St. Gertrude Old Church, which would also have you pass the Nativity Cathedral among others on the way. From the Cathedral, you can explore some of the small streets in the vicinity until you find Dzirnavu iela which you would then take north until you reach Antonijas iela, from the intersection between those two streets you can already see Albert Street. Don't miss to look around on the surrounding streets as they also have a large presence of Art Nouveau buildings. This is of course a huge detour, but when you're visiting a new city you should always want to explore and see as much as possible and this route doesn't take too much time and it's no hard terrain to pass while at the same time it will take you through some of the major sights outside of Old Riga. On the way back you can explore Kronvalda Park. It is a quite popular recreation spot for locals during the summer months. Safety is no issue in this area or on the way to or from there. Riga might look a little rough at times, but it's very safe during the day and not unsafe at night either.

Picture Gallery

If you want to see more pictures from Albert Street, you can visit the Gallery I made of the street and the area around it. You can also visit the Destination Guide for Riga to see more information and pictures of the whole city. Below are two photos of Alberta iela 8 (Albert Street 8), which is a good example of the type of architecture you'll find on Albert Street as well as in Riga in general. Alberta iela 8 is also one of the buildings that were designed by Michail Eisenstein.