One of the other things we visited in Riga was the Art Nouveau Museum. This is the only museum in the Baltic states dedicated entirely to the heritage of Art Nouveau (known locally as Jūgendstils). Opened in 2009, the museum provides an immersive look into how the wealthy residents of Riga lived during the height of the movement at the beginning of the 20th century, a period when roughly one-third of the buildings in the city center were designed in this ornate style.
The museum is housed inside a historic apartment where the prominent Latvian architect Konstantīns Pēkšēns lived and worked until 1907. The space has been meticulously restored to its authentic 1903 layout and interior design. We were able to wander through a sequence of rooms that perfectly capture the era's aesthetic philosophy, where every detail (from the door handles and stained-glass windows to the furniture and wall paintings) was coordinated to create a unified work of art.
There were some mildly interesting exhibits in the lower floor, including one about telephones. But the more interesting aspect was on the upper floor, which was the original apartment.
The apartment features a fully furnished living room, a dining room adorned with impressive wood paneling, a master bedroom, a sitting room, and a renovated kitchen and bathroom displaying period-accurate appliances and plumbing fixtures. We actually were quite captivated by these surroundings, and spent quite a bit of time admiring how things looked. They were all very pretty.
Perhaps another eye-catching feature was the spiral staircase, outside of the apartment. Even before entering the museum apartment, visitors encounter one of the building's most famous highlights: the monumental central spiral staircase. It features magnificent ceiling paintings and intricate wrought-iron railings, making it one of the most photographed staircases in Europe. So yes, I also took some photos of it.
Eventually we slowly made our way to the exit. Time to move on and check out something else.
