Riga and Rundale

Thought a little geography might be in order just to keep track of where we were.  Latvia sits between Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south.  We'll be going to both of those countries in the next few days.  The smallest of the Baltic States is Estonia, where about 1.4 million people live, then comes Latvia with 1.9 million, and the largest is Lithuania, with a population of 3.8 million.  All three have a long history of being run by other countries.  Over the years the area was ruled by Poland, Sweden, and Russia.  For two decades after WW1 Latvia enjoyed independence until the Soviets moved in in 1940, then they were ousted by the Germans in 1941, who were in turn reconquered by the Soviets in 1944 and from that point on until 1991 the country was a satellite of the USSR.  Since independence was achieved again Latvia has joined NATO and also the European Union.  A final note here, Riga itself is on the Daugava River, about 15 km (10 mi) from the Baltic Sea.

We made an brief early morning stop at St. Peter's Church, church which was first mentioned in records in 1209, about eight years after Riga was founded by the Bishop of Bremen who came with crusaders to convert the heathen tribes of the north.

The church was added to in the 15th and 17th centuries so the architectural styles are quite a mix.  The original tower collapsed in 1660, was replaced by 1690 then destroyed by lightning in 1721, replaced, then burned down in WW2, not the luckiest of spires.  When it was restored in the 1960’s an elevator was added along with an observation deck 

Not far from St. Peter's is the large Town Hall Square which would have been the heart of the old city.  After settlement began thanks to Bishop Albert of Bremen, Riga quickly became a powerhouse in the Hanseatic League as a crossroads between Eastern and Western Europe.  Many of the buildings the this square were destroyed in WW2 so when the Soviets arrived they replaced them with ugly block-style ones.  

Thankfully, following independence, the Latvians worked to restore one of their most beautiful buildings, the House of Blackheads, an imposing red brick structure with gilded decorations.  The original had been built in 1334 as a guild house of merchant bachelors who were known for organizing celebrations and parties.  The story goes that they were the ones responsible for putting a Christmas tree on public display for the first time in 1510 here on the square.  

After the first House of Blackheads had been gutted by German bombs the Soviets decided to just bulldoze rather than rebuild, but by 1999 the people of Riga had lovingly reconstructed this treasure whose interior is supposed to be as least as beautiful as its exterior, we arrived too early to go in.

Iconic selfie with iconic building.

To the left is the coat of arms of Riga while to the right is the coat of arms of the Blackheads Guild.

Today's City Hall where business is carried on differently than in the days of the Hanseatic League.  During those times each city had their own weights and measures so when foreign merchants came to town they had to come here to sell their wares, commerce between outside traders wasn't allowed, they always had to go through the Hansa, which is part of the reason the local merchants were so wealthy.

Each year new laws were announced from the balcony of the Town Hall.  The other important service provided from here was that each day a trumpeter would come out on the balcony to announce the beginning and end of every work day.  At one time this city hall held an actual gilded key to the city, but the story goes that when it was presented to Catherine the Great of Russia on a visit to Riga, she liked it so much she took it home with her.  It's now in The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

Streets and towers in Riga.

The city is known for its Art Nouveau style buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  This structure is just one example.

At Cathedral Square (Doms Laudums) you’ll find, you guessed it, a 13th century cathedral which is surprisingly huge, something that is rare in the Baltics. During the Soviet Era it was a concert hall. They liked to repurpose churches,  Inside is a massive pipe organ, the largest in the region, where organ concerts are a regular occurrence.

From the square you can see three spires with roosters on them.  These are actually weather vanes and had a purpose for the people of Riga.  One side was gilded and the other not.  If they could see the gilded side of the rooster that mean that winds were such that ships would be coming in so prepare for them and to make some deals.  If the dark side of the weather vane was showing that meant the wind was contrary and that there wouldn't be any ships in that day.

Formerly one of the sources of entertainment here on the square was watching executions rather than listening to organ music.

Just down the street from the old city center is Riga Castle, home of the President of Latvia.  His offices are also located here.  The correct flags were flying that day to show that he was there working.

The railroad bridge is just one of ofour that cross the river here near Riga.  The Daugava is not a particularly deep river and had to be dredged to make it deep enough for cruise ships to ply its waters.

We next boarded our small bus again to head out into the countryside on our way to Rundale Palace.  It was a lovely drive with fields of ripe grain and rows of vegetables, as well as pine forests.  One of the things that put Riga on the map was its abundance of pine for ship building.

There are many small rivers and streams in the area.

Rundale Palace, or Rundáles pils was getting closer.

Pictured on the right are the original Duke and Duchess of Courland, Jacob Kettler and his wife Sharlotta.  He was given this massive tract of land as a reward for services and made Duke of Courland in 1642.  I can't begin to sort out all of the surprising influences this Duchy has had throughout northern Europe and other parts of the world, important marriages, powerful shipbuilding merchants, colonizers,  the list goes on and on.

Built as the summer residence of the Duke Ernst Johann of Courland, it was first begun in 1736, with work continuing until 1740 when the Duke was banished to Siberia.  He got in the Czar's good graces again because he eventually came back to Courland and construction began again in 1764, with work being completed in 1768.  

Runsdale is known as the "Versailles of the Baltic" and it is easy to see resemblances to the famous French palace, especially knowing that it was SUPPOSED to look like it.

During the Soviet era the palace was used as a school, falling into serious disrepair.  It was another place that was beloved by the people of Latvia and after independence a trust was set up to restore the palace to at least some of its former glory, with funds be added in by the government.  Even the old cobblestone courtyard had pretty designs in it.

Looking back towards the gate gives you an idea of the depth of the wings of the palace.

Before going inside we took a walk through the gate on the left to go to the beautiful gardens at the back of the palace grounds.  The property sits on over 200 acres of land, much of the back in forest as well as the gardens.

A little later picture will show it better, but the grounds are laid out in a sunburst, a nod to the Sun King, Louis XIV of Versailles fame.

I went a little crazy taking pictures of roses here.  There is a huge variety of these flowers at Runsdale, 16,000 plants of all colors and hues.

Besides the roses there are other varieties of flowers, as well as different types of trees.

Shrubbery is trimmed into designs, and the roses aren't the

only types of flowers in the gardens.

This was one of my favorite photos of the day.

And more roses.  One of the things I liked about this garden was that they had the names of the rose next to them so I jotted down two or three that I'd love to see in my own garden.  If we'd had more time it would have been interesting to follow the history of roses you can find in these gardens as some of the earliest cultivated varieties are grown here.  Did you know that it was Napoleon's wife, Josephine, who supposedly first started creating cultivated varieties of roses?

I did like this reflection photo on the left, and I thought a close up of the pretty fountain would be a nice addition here as well.

We had lunch at the cafe inside the palace, some delicious chicken, fresh boiled potatoes, vegetables and a coleslaw with vinegar and caraway seeds.  Karl and I tried a Latvian drink called Kvass that the waitress said was root beer but it was served room temperature and not anything like a root beer, but maybe a beer, as it did taste somewhat fermented.  Whatever it was it wasn't very good.  For dessert there was scrumptious apple cake and a super creamy black current, chocolate chip ice cream.  I would have liked three scoops!  

Finally it was time for our tour of the palace itself.  

There are 138 rooms in the palace, some large, many smaller, this one is one of the bigger ones called The Golden Hall.  You can see why.

The palace is known for its Baroque and Rococo designs since it was begun in one period and completed in the other.  The panels on the left are wood, painted to look like marble.  Note the beautiful painted ceiling.

I don't know who all these lovely faces are that graced the tops of the walls around the room but their gilded headwear was fun to check out.

A sign of wealth in the 18th century was to have a collection of fine pottery from China.  Small rooms like the one on the left were made just to display pieces.  This room is actually one that is pretty much the same as it was in the 18th century.

Through one set of doors off the hall you reached the Dining Hall.  This room reminded me of Versailles.  You could have a massive dinner party here.

There were many small rooms throughout the palace about the same size as this one.  there were also many of these tile heaters.  More on those later.

This one was the Dancing Hall.  You could have held quite a ball here.

Rococo style had these children doing all kinds of activities or tastes that actual children never would have done, like hunting, or playing stringed instruments.

Another china display room and another tile heater.

Notice the three fireplaces here.  These would have been located in a closet of their own, then stoked to send out heat to various rooms in the palace.  Fireplaces like these would be connected to several of the tile heaters, which is how they kept the palace warm.  But since it was a summer palace I can't image that they needed too much heat.

This private bathroom was in the Duke's apartments that ran down one wing of the house.  They have a very rare wooden toilet in here.  Most of those got to smelly after many uses to be kept, they were rightfully burned.  However, the museum here was able to find one somehow at an auction for the display at Runsdale.  Super sanitized I'm sure!

These photos are from one of the rooms that hasn't been restored to give guests an idea of how much work has been done here.

These are painting of a small fish in a big pond.  Duke Johan is in the center, surrounded by Czars to his right and left and the King of Poland above him.

A picture of his wife, Mitau.

The Duke's private bed chamber.

He had an excellent view of the gardens from his bedroom window.  Here you get more of an idea of the sunburst pattern of the garden layout.

The Dining Room had these lovely table settings that you can still buy today, if you want to spend $1600 on a plate.

The important distinguishing feature of this china is the green band.  It can be acquired either with or without the flower pattern.  the pieces really were gorgeous.

Billiards was supposed to be a healthy "sport" so it was encouraged here.

In the Duchess's wing there was this lovely secretary holding these perfume pots.  Odor was a significant problem in the 18th century so to help hide food odors, or unwashed body odors, these pots would be filled with some sort of perfume and placed strategically in a room to hide the stink.

Not the Duchess's bedroom but her boudoir.

Some really lovely tapestry chairs in this room.  The little table between was fun to take a photo at...how did I want myself reflected?

Lucky for her, the duchess had her own private bathroom.

A glimpse into her actual bedroom.

Examples of two fans the duchess would have used in her lifetime.

These is definitely a large bustle on that dress!

Small hand-painted containers.

An example of what the Duke might have worn, hopefully to sleep in .

A last view of Rundale with the palace stables in the foreground.

On the way out a friend spotted these two swallows nesting in a chimney. 

Then it was back to Riga with all of its spires.

A nice view of St. Peter's spire.

Pictured here is the Central Market.  These aren’t tourist shops but actual massive working markets lodged in five former German zeppelin hangars that were leftovers from WW1.  It’s the largest market in Europe with over 80,000 people shopping there each day! 

More example of Art Nouveau style buildings here, 

and here.  There were multiple crazy faces like this along the walls of the buildings.

The lovely Russian Orthodox Cathedral which was re-purposed to became a “House of Knowledge” and a planetarium, the latter because of its dome.  Built in the 19th century this striking site also has an interior that is beautifully decorated as well as its golden domes.

One of Riga's claims to fame is that it is the birthplace of ballet legend Mikhail Baryshnikov.   This structure is the Latvian National Opera and Ballet, where he performed for the first time.

One of the best known monuments in the city is a memorial tribute, paid for by the people,  to those who died in the struggle for independence in 1919.  It's found on a traffic island on Brivibas Bulvāris.  Standing there proudly since 1935 is Lady Liberty, nicknamed “Milda”, holding three stars which represent the three areas of Latvia.  The Soviets surprisingly left it standing, probably fearful of what would have happened had they demolished it, but they of course re-purposed it saying that Liberty was Mother Russia and that the stars were the Baltic States.  No one was allowed to come anywhere near the memorial during those years and if they did they were picked up by the KGB.  It was a protest in Riga that helped lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall.  There is another memorial in the city that is an actual piece of the wall that was sent to Riga as thanks for their part in helping it fall. 

We enjoyed our visit to Riga, seeing some sights, a bit of the countryside, and the beautiful Runsdale Palace.  We easily could have explored more that the city has to offer!