National Opera House, Riga, Latvia

The National Opera House was constructed in 1863 by architect Ludwig Bohnstedt from St. Petersburg, for the then German-speaking City Theatre. It has been refurbished several times; 1882-1887 (following a fire in 1882), 1957–1958, 1991-1995 (following independence). A modern annex was added in 2001 with a 300-seat New Hall.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Jānis Ķengurs (2 years ago)
Carmen. Modern with hip hop and big ass. Karmena. Graffiti, hiphop, breakdance un liela pakaļa ir tas kas nebija operā parasti un Karmenas rakstīšanas gadsimta laikā, taču ir tagad Operā mūsdienīgajā interpretācijā.

Adela Vitkovska (2 years ago)
Latvian national opera is a perfect place to visit during your stay in Riga. For affordable price you can experience a high quality performance! I visited Romeo & Juliet and the ballet was really excellent!

Arturas Dulka (2 years ago)
Coming from Lithuania. The opera house is smaller than we have in Lithuania, seeing the scene from above is pretty hard. Had a hard time. But overall its fine.

Flams LV (2 years ago)
Awesome place, I go there almost every day. To ease things out for me, I started to work there, that was 12 years ago.

Marina Wilson (3 years ago)
Offers a great variety of performances. In particularly I always enjoy their ballet. Highly recommended.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

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Kirkjubøargarður

Kirkjubøargarður ('Yard of Kirkjubøur', also known as King"s Farm) is one of the oldest still inhabited wooden houses of the world. The farm itself has always been the largest in the Faroe Islands. The old farmhouse dates back to the 11th century. It was the episcopal residence and seminary of the Diocese of the Faroe Islands, from about 1100. Sverre I of Norway (1151–1202), grew up here and went to the priest school. The legend says, that the wood for the block houses came as driftwood from Norway and was accurately bundled and numbered, just for being set up. Note, that there is no forest in the Faroes and wood is a very valuable material. Many such wood legends are thus to be found in Faroese history.

The oldest part is a so-called roykstova (reek parlour, or smoke room). Perhaps it was moved one day, because it does not fit to its foundation. Another ancient room is the loftstovan (loft room). It is supposed that Bishop Erlendur wrote the 'Sheep Letter' here in 1298. This is the earliest document of the Faroes we know today. It is the statute concerning sheep breeding on the Faroes. Today the room is the farm"s library. The stórastovan (large room) is from a much later date, being built in 1772.

Though the farmhouse is a museum, the 17th generation of the Patursson Family, which has occupied it since 1550, is still living here. Shortly after the Reformation in the Faroe Islands in 1538, all the real estate of the Catholic Church was seized by the King of Denmark. This was about half of the land in the Faroes, and since then called King"s Land (kongsjørð). The largest piece of King"s Land was the farm in Kirkjubøur due to the above-mentioned Episcopal residence. This land is today owned by the Faroese government, and the Paturssons are tenants from generation to generation. It is always the oldest son, who becomes King"s Farmer, and in contrast to the privately owned land, the King"s Land is never divided between the sons.

The farm holds sheep, cattle and some horses. It is possible to get a coffee here and buy fresh mutton and beef directly from the farmer. In the winter season there is also hare hunting for the locals. Groups can rent the roykstovan for festivities and will be served original Faroese cuisine.

Other famous buildings directly by the farmhouse are the Magnus Cathedral and the Saint Olav"s Church, which also date back to the mediaeval period. All three together represent the Faroe Island"s most interesting historical site.

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