Small & Great Guild Hall, Riga, Latvia

During the centuries of German economic domination, the guilds were Riga's power brokers. The former, dating from 1384, was the home of the merchants, while the latter held the city's artisans. These slightly different audiences are reflected in the respective usage of the buildings today: while the Great Guild is home to the Latvian Symphony Orchestra, its smaller cousin hosts conferences and the occasional disco. The Small Guild is now also open to the public during the day for a small admission fee of 1Ls.

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User Reviews

Ra Mie (2 years ago)
Great architecture. There's also a legend about the cat on the roof protecting the owner.

Artūrs Laizāns (2 years ago)
Nice place for concerts. A bit cold in winter. I believe it is not weelchair accessable.

Netanel Pollak (2 years ago)
Fantastic concert hall. Great sound. Very much recommended.

Dagmar Neves (2 years ago)
Exquisite interior. The choral concert competition was outstanding. This is a magical place.

Kristians Luhaers (2 years ago)
A Neo Gothic pearl of Old Town of Riga! Johann Felsko masterpiece. Marvelous! Take the tour of the building, (NB! you have to check it in advance, would it be possible to have a guided tour there, but they do that during the summer) and you will have some unforgettable glimpses of 19th century interiors, terrazzo mosaics and mesmerising stained glass windows. You won't regret! Picture courtesy of Mr. Romualds Pipars a director and cameraman who running a small film studio there.

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Aarhus Old Town

The Old Town in Aarhus, Denmark (Den Gamle By), is an open-air town museum consisting of 75 historical buildings collected from 20 townships in all parts of the country. In 1914 the museum opened as the world's first open-air museum of its kind, concentrating on town culture rather than village culture, and to this day it remains one of just a few top rated Danish museums outside Copenhagen.

The museum buildings are organized into a small town of chiefly half-timbered structures originally erected between 1550 and the late 19th century in various parts of the country and later moved to Aarhus during the 20th century. In all there are some 27 rooms, chambers or kitchens, 34 workshops, 10 groceries or shops, 5 historical gardens, a post office, a customs office, a school and a theatre.

The town itself is the main attraction but most buildings are open for visitors; rooms are either decorated in the original historical style or organized into larger exhibits of which there are 5 regular with varying themes. There are several groceries, diners and workshops spread throughout the town with museum staff working in the roles of town figures i.e. merchant, blacksmith etc. adding to the illusion of a 'living' town.

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