“A German Oak Built of Stone”. Neo-Gothic Guildhalls in Riga
“A German Oak Built of Stone”. Neo-Gothic Guildhalls in Riga

Summary/Abstract: The article concerns two neo-Gothic public buildings in Riga: the restructuring of the Great Guildhall of St. Mary (Stube zu Münster, later Grosse St. Marien Gilde, Lielā ģilde, Amatu ielā 6, Karl Beyne, 1854–1860), dating from the mid-14th century, which was the seat of the city’s merchants, and the Little Guildhall of St. John (Stube zu Soest, then Kleine St. Johannisgilde, Mazā ģilde, Amatu ielā 3/5, Johann Daniel Felsko, 1864–1866), belonging to the craftsmen’s guilds. The two buildings stood next to each other, beside the city walls. The complicated history of their construction is presented against the background of changes in the importance of the German merchant and craftsmen elites in Riga around the mid-19th century, the progressive unification of the Russian Empire, and the Russification of the Baltic provinces that began during the reign of Tsar Alexander II.

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