# Kaķu nams

> This file is a plain-text rendition of a page on mytuur.com, generated from the same data as the HTML version.

Canonical page: https://mytuur.com/en/city/riga/spot/kaku-nams/

Content updated: 2026-06-22

Kaķu nams stands in Riga’s Old Town, its custard-yellow façade combining medieval forms with colourful Art Nouveau detail. Friedrich Scheffel designed the building in 1909. Two black copper cats crouch high above the street, their arched backs and raised tails creating a striking silhouette.

A local legend links the sculptures to a wealthy Latvian tradesman refused entry to the Great Guild. He reportedly placed the cats with their backsides facing the guild across the street. After a court dispute, a compromise supposedly turned their faces towards the guild instead. Another version connects the gesture with Riga’s Town Hall, which stood in the same direction. A restaurant occupies the ground floor, while offices fill the upper levels.

Look upward from the surrounding streets and you can see the figures poised as if ready to leap. Their expressive poses have made them a familiar symbol of Riga’s architectural and cultural landscape.

- City: [Riga](https://mytuur.com/en/city/riga/)

## Photos

- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_CatHouse_68750b94622f9d68e0bc0395_0.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Riga_-_Cat's_House_-_Cat_2.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_CatHouse_68750b94622f9d68e0bc0395_1.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Building_in_Riga_4.JPG)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_CatHouse_68750b94622f9d68e0bc0395_2.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:10_12_Meistaru_Street_detail.jpg)

Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Riga. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.

## What is myTuur?

myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.