Art Nouveau Architecture in Walking Distance

 

The historic center of Riga is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, largely thanks to the abundance of Art Nouveau architecture in the city. Riga is the most densely built Art Nouveau city in the world, with approximately 40% of the buildings in the city center being Art Nouveau, which is significantly more than anywhere else in the world.

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The development of Art Nouveau in Riga coincided with a period of unprecedented prosperity in the city's history. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, with the development of the railway, Riga became an important port and industrial center, and was one of the five largest cities in the Russian Empire. Between 1897 and 1914, the population of Riga almost doubled, from 282,943 to 530,000.

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The development of Art Nouveau was also aided by the adoption of new building regulations at the end of the 19th century, which allowed construction outside the walls of the Old Town. At the beginning of the 20th century, more than 100 multi-storey brick buildings were constructed in some years.

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The "Quiet Center" became a model district for Art Nouveau for several reasons: it was further away from busy transit streets (such as Brīvības or Kr.Valdemāra) and the port and industrial centers, and there were parks and boulevards nearby, which made the district quite green. After the walls were demolished, city planners deliberately directed development towards the Quiet Center, intended for the wealthier segment of society. Taller buildings, more spacious apartments and richer facade decoration were permitted here, creating ideal conditions for the expression of Art Nouveau.

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Alberta Street became the main "model street," with almost all of its buildings listed as national cultural monuments. The street was created in 1901 and by 1908 it was already completely built up in its current form.

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 Remember to stay safe throughout the game – cross the streets carefully!

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Below is a map with 31 points. Each point has a number, which indicates its value – the value of a point is the first digit of the number: for example, point "41" is worth 4 points, while point "36" is worth 3 points.

 

Below the map is a button that allows you to access the map in higher resolution. ​

Below the map are 38 photos of objects marked J1 - J38.

 

Four objects are outside the regions visible on the map (fake objects).

 

Once you reach a point, your task is to find the corresponding object in the photos and indicate it in the answer form at the bottom of the page.

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At points 61, 62, and 63, you will find two of the objects shown in the photos (each object is worth 3 points). ​

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The total number of points that can be earned in the game is 79.

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There is no time limit for completing the task.

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At the very bottom is a form for submitting your results. For each point on the map, mark the object (J1 - J38) that you found. Please submit the answer form only once. You will receive your results immediately after submitting your answers.