House of the Black Heads

Already for 700 hundred years the House of the Black Heads.pleases and enraptures inhabitants and guests of Riga. This is one of the most magnificent buildings in Riga, preserving both the unique historic heritage of the legendary Brotherhood of Black Heads, and the history of Riga. House of the Black Heads was built in the distant 1334 as a constituent of Riga’s Town Hall ensemble. Its original design had been of a common medieval building, and final appearance is a result of numerous reconstructions. The house, considered the most beautiful in the city, together with the city hall and other buildings in Riga was demolished during the Second World War. After the war the interest about House of the Black Heads never ceased, different reconstruction projects were developed. In 1991 in the St. Peters church was an exhibition organized in honor of the organization of Black Heads and their building. In 1992 archeological excavations begun on the location site of the original building and in 1995 a large issue was published about House of the Black Heads and the brotherhood. This was the year when the reconstruction was begun. Since 1999 Riga is proud again about its re-erected building. And the wish once written on the gate of  House of the Black Heads is fulfilled: “Should I ever crumble to dust, rebuild my walls you must”