Strazdumuiža

Strazdumuiža, the Old Manor, stands in Riga’s Kalnciema Street cultural landscape, surrounded by an old park and historic estate buildings. Its loghouse construction and French roof reflect Riga’s eighteenth-century architectural heritage. Built around 1786, the house is regarded as the oldest surviving structure in the Hartmann manor complex. The property originally stood among forests and served as a repose manor for court employee K. Kron.

Johann Jacob Collins acquired the manor in the early nineteenth century and added a ballroom for receiving guests. Two wooden Tuscan columns face the street. A four-column porch later connected the house’s two main sections, before becoming an enclosed room in 1929. Baroque and neoclassical influences meet in the building, while restorations in 1960 and from 1994 preserved its historic character.

The roof shelters original baroque wooden plank decking, an uncommon survival from that period. Glass tiles added attic light in the early twentieth century. The grounds also contain a gardener’s house and ballroom, completing the picture of a former Riga merchant and aristocratic residence.