Mihails Eizenšteins with his wife Jūlija and son Sergej, in 1900.

No. 13, built in 1904, is arguably Mihails Eizenšteins' most regal work of all his imaginings built along Alberta iela.

The female form abounds, some dreamy, some laughing saucily. Then there is someone screaming, mouth open, holding head in hands. Typical Jugendstil railings decorate the facade.

Tne building was purchased in 1998 by the Soros Foundation and donated to the Rīga Graduate School of Law, for whose needs the building was renovated from 1999 to 2002. The facade and significant interior features have been accurately restored.

Mikhail Osipovich Eisenstein, (Russian: Михаил Осипович Эйзенштейн, 1867 in St. Petersburg – 1921 in Berlin), was a Russian architect and civil engineer of Baltic German1 descent. His paternal grandparents were German Jews, who had converted to Orthodox Christianity, and his maternal grandparents are thought to have been Swedes.23 He graduated from the Institute of Civic Engineering in St. Petersburg in 1893. He designed a number of Art Nouveau buildings in Riga and built several apartment buildings for State Counsellor A. Lebedinsky, including the ones at Alberta iela 4 (1904), 6 (1903) and 13, and at Elizabetes iela 10b (1903). His projects were characterized by decorative, odd-shaped windows, often with large female head shapes, bright glazed brick or ceramic plates, glass and metal tiles, etc.4

Because of the Russian Revolution Mikhail Eisenstein emigrated to Berlin, where he died in 1921 of a heart attack, at age 54. He lies buried at Berlin-Tegel Russian Orthodox Cemetery.

His son Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein became a well-known Soviet film director.


1Russian Newspaper (in German Language about Michail Eisenstein, Baltischdeutscher Architekt
2Bergan, Ronald: "The Childhood of Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
3Literary Encyclopedia: Sergei Eisenstein at www.litencyc.com
4From Wikipedia.
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