latviski
Riga's Jugendstil Grandeur
Paul MandelstammNo. 10, built in 1903, is but one of dozens of buildings across a range of architectural styles which all owe their design to the prolific and talented Paul Mandelstamm↗ (19 September 1872 – 1941) (Latvian: Pauls Mandelštams).
Mandelstamm was born in Kovno Governorate↗ in present-day Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire↗). He studied both architecture and civil engineering at Riga Polytechnic Institute (today Riga Technical University↗) and graduated in 1892. He worked on the construction of the first electric tram↗ line in Riga↗ in 1900–1901, and supervised the construction of waterworks in the city in 1903–1904. He designed some 50 to 70 buildings in the city, initially in an Eclectic↗ style, but later in Jugendstil↗ and later still in Functionalist↗ style. 1
He was tragically shot to death in Riga in 1941, during the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Latvia↗.2
Additional Reading
- A brief history of the building - a look back to Art Nouveau↗, regarding another building designed by Mandelstamm and including a brief biography.
| 1 | Krastiņš, Jānis. Riga. Jugendstilmetropole. Art Nouveau Metropolis. Jugendstila Metropole., Baltika, Riga, 1996, page 344, ISBN: 9984-9178-1-9. [ LINK] (“Krastiņš”) |
| 2 | Krastiņš |
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