Sculpture of a cat on a roof
Architecture,  Latvia,  Photographing Public Art

Gallery: meet the many cats of Riga

In the centre of Riga is an imposing house, which has come to symbolise the city. What would in any case be a grand Art Nouveau structure is made special by the presence of two large cats on the turrets at either end.

Large yellow building with cat sculptures on tower roofs
The House of Cats

Cats are the unofficial symbol of Riga, scattered across numerous tourist souvenirs; and this building, the House of Cats, is the reason why. And there is a story attached to it, or rather several competing stories. The most commonly told is this:

A wealthy Latvian tradesman wanted to join the prestigious Riga Tradesman Guild, the so-called Great Guild, but was refused membership as the guild was restricted to German merchants.  To show the guild what he thought about them he commissioned two cat sculptures to be placed on the roof of his nearby house with their backsides towards the guild house. He thought this would show the guild just what he thought of them and invoke misfortune to those who had refused him entry. A lengthy legal battle ensued. It ended with him eventually being granted membership, at which point he relented and turned the cats around.

One version of the story adds a twist. In this version, the sculptor fell while erecting his work, and died; the bad luck had befallen him. It was in response to this mishap that the man turned the cats around, and the guild accepted him. It seems to me that the moral of this version is a little dodgy; since the man got his own way while inflicting death on another. But whatever the truth of these stories, the cats are so cute that the building just has to be seen!

[Other stories say simply that the owner loved cats so much he/she wanted them on the roof, or that the owner of this house fought with his neighbour β€œlike cats and dogs”, so one put cats on his roof and the other (long-gone) dogs on theirs.]

More cats

With the Cat House such a prominent and popular landmark in the city, perhaps it is not surprising that cats have become something of an emblem for Riga. You see them everywhere, and especially on souvenirs! Tea towels with cats, fridge magnets, sweets – I even spotted a giant cat outside one souvenir shop. It’s fun to look out for these as you walk around and I’m sharing them for this week’s Photographing Public Art challenge.

I also came across another β€˜cat house’ in the Art Nouveau district, number 8 in Antonijas iela. You can see more photos of this building in my Art Nouveau gems of Riga post.

And of course, there are even some real cats, which I couldn’t resist including even though they don’t qualify as β€˜public art’!

So if like me you are a cat lover, you will be very happy in Riga.

I visited Riga in 2014 and 2015; most of these photos are from my first visit

32 Comments

  • Julie

    As I was going through the post I asked myself “where are the real cats?”
    *scroll down* Ah, there they are.

    My husband is not a cat person, but I’ll still visit and bring him along. I will just withhold the that Riga is the city of cats.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      😻😻 Well, Riga has more to offer than just cats, so hopefully your husband will find something there to like and may not even realise that it was the cats that lured you there!

  • thehungrytravellers.blog

    Ah yes we remember seeing that building and being amused by its story/stories. I’ve had pet cats most of my life, from childhood up until about ten years ago when we decided no more (actually, Michaela has never had one, had a dog instead!). These days I seem to be a magnet for cats when we travel.. there’s no doubt that they can sense a cat lover.

  • rkrontheroad

    I have been a cat person and a dog person, but enjoying my freedom from pets right now. Sometimes it’s best that some of the origin stories are somewhat forgotten or confused. I’d like to just enjoy seeing those cats on the towers for the smile they bring!

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thanks Ruth – I believe you can be a cat and/or dog person without owning any yourself. My husband and I both love cats but we’ve never had one as we travel so much (normally!) and don’t have anyone obvious close by to take care of pets while we’re away. So we just befriend any neighbouring cats instead πŸ™‚

  • Gradmama2011

    love the cats on the tops of the towers. Our outdoor cat, Peggy, will come running out of nowhere when she sees or hears of a camera in the neighborhood. She will leap to the top of a big stone chimenera and pose there…or on a log, whatever she chooses…of course she draws the line on following a request for her to pose. πŸ™‚ Cats are such performers.

  • leightontravels

    Ah, an article after my own heart if ever there was one. It’s good to know that Riga is a catty city, we shall have to remember that. Wherever we go we’re always on the lookout for cats and must have hundreds of feline photos in our online library. Istanbul comes to mind and indeed here in Montenegro over the past month. the House of Cats has just gone onto my bucket list, love the statues.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      Thank you Leighton – I’m glad to have introduced you to a city that’s just right for cat lovers (and has a lot more to offer besides). I highly recommend a trip, it’s perfect for a long weekend city break πŸ™‚

      • Marsha

        True that, but they sound like they could be. I watched a mostly true story titled, β€œLady in the Van” yesterday about an author living with a homeless woman in his driveway for 15 years. Great movie.

        • Sarah Wilkie

          Oh yes, I loved that film! The author is Alan Bennett, and they filmed it at the actual house in London’s Regent’s Park area. It’s just around the corner from where I lived for the first four years of my life, and my grandfather continued to live for some years afterwards. Back then it was a pretty poor area and Bennett wasn’t the famous writer he became. Today it’s very smart (several very famous people have houses in the neighbourhood) and I’m not sure all the locals like having film fans / Alan Bennett fans / Maggie Smith fans coming to gawp at the house πŸ˜† It was quite a big story when he sold the house a few years ago: https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/alan-bennett-s-gloucester-crescent-lady-in-the-van-house-3576574

  • maristravels

    I don’t have a cat but I like them and my neighbour has a very superior Burmese cat which I look after when she goes on holiday or visits relatives. Sometimes she deigns to appear for her food but I’ve know times when she ignores me for a week before appearing in person. Yet she happily strolls into my garden and sits on my balcony as though she owns it (or does she maybe think she owns me)?.

    • Sarah Wilkie

      I’m sure she think she owns both you AND the balcony! But it’s still nice to have a cat neighbour and be able to look after her from time to time πŸ™‚ We used to do the same for our neighbours but they moved away and the new people haven’t moved in yet, and so far have said nothing about owning a cat. We live in hope!

    • Sarah Wilkie

      I’m the same πŸ˜€ We don’t have a cat (not fair when we travel so much, when we can at least) but we both love them and shamelessly flirt with all the neighbours’ cats!!

Do let me know what you think - I'd love to hear from you

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