House of the Blackheads (Riga)
Photography by Carlos Dorce
The House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is located in the heart of the old town of Riga. It’s a building erected in the first half of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads who was an association of local unmarried ship owners and merchants founded in the 14th century. The house is one of the most folkloric buildings in the city because of its ornamentation built during the XVIth, XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries. In the Second World War, the house was destroyed by the German bombs (1941) and the current picture was built in the period 1995-1999.
House of the Blackheads in 1891
Source: Wikimedia Commons
I’ve been in Riga twice and I’ve always admired this beautiful house! And the astronomical clock on its front!
Astronomical clock
Photography by Carlos Dorce
The clock has three circles. The upper one indicates whether it is day or night and the the lower one points to the day of the week. The main clock is a calendar (days and months) and a analogical clock (hours and minutes). I want to return to Prague to enjoy its great astronomical clock but I think that this one can be just as interesting as the Czeck one!
Location: The House of the Blackheads (map)
THE MATHEMATICAL TOURIST 