Standing at the corner of Meistaru and Smilšu streets in Riga's Old Town, the Cat House is one of those buildings that rewards anyone who actually looks up while walking. Built around 1909 in a flamboyant Art Nouveau style, the structure is crowned by two wrought-iron black cats perched atop its twin turrets, tails raised defiantly skyward. The story behind those cats is one of Riga's most beloved pieces of local lore: legend has it that the Latvian merchant who commissioned the building was refused membership in the powerful German Great Guild across the street, and in petty revenge had the cats positioned with their backsides — and raised tails — pointed directly at the guild hall. Whether the tale is historically verified or embellished over time, it captures something real about the class tensions that defined Riga's early 20th-century commercial life.
Other