House of the Blackheads (Riga)
The House of the Blackheads ( Latvian : Melngalvju nams ) on the town hall square of the Latvian capital Riga (Latvian: Rīga ) was first mentioned in 1334 as the "New House of the Great Guild". It served both the merchants and the predominantly German citizens of Riga for meetings. It corresponds to the Arthurian courts built in other cities at that time . The house, built in Gothic style, with its steep gable roof, the ridge of which reached the stately height of 27 meters, corresponded to a medieval house. The gable facade, richly decorated with sculptures and reliefs, of the building, which was redesigned in the Mannerist style based on the model of Dutch-Flemish guild houses, is again a symbol and one of the main attractions of Riga after its faithful reconstruction.
Name origin
The Black Heads Company emerged from the brotherhood of St. George, which was active at the end of the 13th century . It brought together young, unmarried foreign merchants who lived in Riga without being citizens of the city. In the beginning, St. George (protector of knights and warriors) was the patron saint of this covenant. This role was later taken over by Saint Mauritius , whose symbol, the Moor's head, has entered the coat of arms of the Blackheads. The company's statutes from 1416 have been preserved. The company is still based in Bremen today and its members still adhere to the old rules. In 1447, the Riga Council rented the parade hall on the upper floor to the Blackheads. The name "Blackheads House" was introduced in 1687, but it was not until 1713 that the house passed into their ownership.
Destruction and reconstruction
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The House of the Blackheads was destroyed in the Second World War on June 29, 1941 when German troops were shelling while taking Riga. In 1948 the remaining ruins were blown up because of the severe damage, but also for ideological reasons.
The area of the House of the Blackheads was included in the significantly enlarged Rathausmarkt and remained undeveloped until 1993. In preparation for the city's 800th anniversary, the building was faithfully reconstructed within seven years (1993–1999). This is how the "agreement" reached in the past between the Blackheads and the city of Riga in recognition of the centuries-old relationship became a reality:
| German | Latvian |
|---|---|
| Should I fall one day, build me up again. |
Yes man kādreiz sagrūt būs, mani atkal celiet jūs! |
During the reconstruction of the Blackheads House, the basement, which was filled in during the demolition, was cleared of the remains of the building. Some details could be saved and are now being exhibited again in the basement.
The building complex also includes the neighboring Schwabe House and the warehouse of the Blue Guard. Between the House of the Blackheads and the City Hall opposite is the symbol of urban freedom - the Roland with the Riga coat of arms and the sword.
In the House of the Blackheads there is now not only city function rooms, but also the tourist office of the city of Riga and a café.
Facade inscriptions
- Above the clock:
- "ANNO 1334 - RENOV. ANNO 1999 "
- Left side, below the lion sculpture:
- "LOVES AND HONORS THE RIGHT GOD,
- HIS GENDER, HE BLESSES AND EXTENDED. "
- Right side, below the lion sculpture:
- "VIOLATING LAW AND CERTAIN ACTING,
- THUT TURN GOD'S BLESSING INTO A CURSE. "
- Above the windows on the 2nd floor:
- "MELNGALVJU NAMS TIKA SAGRAUTS 1941. GADĀ.
- PILSĒTAS ASTOŅSIMTGADEI PAR GODU NAMU UZ VECAJIEM PAMATIEM NO JAUNA UZCĒLA RĪGAS PILSĒTA. "
- German:
- “ The House of the Blackheads was destroyed in 1941.
- In honor of the 800th anniversary of the city, the house was rebuilt by the city of Riga. "
Facade decoration
On the top of the gable is the weather vane " Saint George fighting the dragon ". Directly below on the gable facade is the relief of King Arthur with a scepter and orb . To the left of him on the facade is a lion with a shield and to his right is a bush of flowers with a seagull.
There is an astronomical clock under the relief of King Arthur . It was made in 1626 by the master watchmaker Matis as "Calendarium perpetuum" (German: " Eternal Calendar " ). In addition to the phases of the moon, the signs of the zodiac and the time, it also shows the respective date and day of the week. The current clock is a replica that was made in Regensburg .
The city coats of arms of the Hanseatic cities of Riga , Bremen , Lübeck and Hamburg are located in a row under the clock . They are guarded by lions to the right and left.
The sculpture of Neptune , the allegories of harmony and peace and the sculpture of Mercury are located under the city arms .
Figures of the mercenaries can be found on the two gable ends of the neighboring Schwabe House .
In the lower part of the facade of the House of the Blackheads you can still find: lions , the Riga city arms, the arms of the Compagnie der Blackheads, the two patron saints Maria and Mauritius , the city arms of Reval and Dorpat and the sculpture of St. George fighting the dragon .
Interior
Inside the house of the Blackheads is the room of the maigraf, who presided over the regular drinks that were common in the guild and with the blackheads. In the cabinet and archive room of the Compagnie der Blackheads, as well as in the museum, you can find a large number of exhibits and loans from Latvian, German and Russian museums about the Blackheads.
In the stairway to the large ballroom of the house there are the busts of Johann Sebastian Bach , Georg Friedrich Handel , Joseph Haydn , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Ludwig van Beethoven , Franz Schubert , Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms . In February 1830 Anna Pauline Milder-Hauptmann sang Franz Schubert's vocal scene The Shepherd on the Rock for the first time .
The large ballroom with an area of 330 m² has been restored to its former glory, with all wall and ceiling decorations and the paintings of the Swedish kings Gustav Adolf II. , Charles XI. and Charles XII. , Queen Christine and the Russian Tsarina Katharina II. , Tsar Peter I and Grand Duke Paul I.
The Lübeck hall with an area of 120 m² is directly adjacent to the large ballroom. The Lübeck panorama adorns it.
There is also a salon and the Latvian hall.
literature
- Theodor Hirsch : About the origin of the Prussian Artus courts . In: Journal for Prussian History and Regional Studies . Volume 1, Issue 1, Berlin 1864, pp. 3-32. (Full text)
- Gotthard Tobias Tielemann : History of the Black Heads in Riga together with a description of the Arthurhof and its memorials . Häcker, Amsterdam 1970, ISBN 90-6129-101-1 . (= Reprint of the Riga 1831 edition)
- Kunstsammlungen Böttcherstraße, Bremen (ed.): The silver treasure of the Compagnie der Black Heads from Riga. Catalog for the exhibitions in Bremen, Roselius House, March 23 - June 1, 1997, Bielefeld, City of Bielefeld Arts and Crafts Collection / Huelsmann Foundation, June 21 - September 28, 1997 . Hauschild, Bremen 1997, ISBN 3-931785-57-2 . (= The collections of the museum in the Roselius House, No. 1)
- Jörg Hackmann: Metamorphoses of the Riga Town Hall Square, 1938–2003. Observations on the role of historical topographies in Northeast Europe. In: Peter Oliver Loew , Christian Pletzing, Thomas Serrier (eds.): Recovered history: On the appropriation of the past in the interstices of Central Europe . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 3-447-05297-X , pp. 118-144.
Web links
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- Miracles still happen in Riga , article by Wilhelm von Boddien on welt.de from January 16, 2002, accessed on October 1, 2012
- Information from latvia.travel , accessed October 1, 2012
- Information from riga.lv ( English ), accessed on October 1, 2012
Individual evidence
- ↑ Robert Schediwy: Reconstruction: Regained Legacy or Useless Kitsch? LIT Verlag, Münster 2011, p. 96 ISBN 978-3-643-50262-9
- ↑ a b c Schediwy, p. 97
Coordinates: 56 ° 56 ′ 49.7 ″ N , 24 ° 6 ′ 24.9 ″ E