Best City Guides

Art Nouveau Architecture

Riga is the world's best preserved open-air museum of Art Nouveau (also known as Jugendstil) architecture, which dates from the early 20th Century. The style is characterised by unusual shapes, curved and organic arches, gargoyles and carved faces, and flamboyant cornices. Over 30 percent of central Riga's buildings were created in this style, many supervised by famous Russian architect Mikhail Eisenstein. The best streets to view buildings on are Elisebetes, Strelnieku and Albert.