Volfšmita muižiņa

Wolfsmith Manor stands within the University of Latvia Botanical Garden in Riga, surrounded by historic parkland and fruit gardens. Its wooden buildings follow classicist forms and gather around an orangery, servants’ house, and laundry house. The residential house completes the four-building ensemble, recognised as a cultural monument of national significance.

Construction spans the middle of the eighteenth to the middle of the nineteenth century. Jānis Šteinhauers first built a smaller manor here as part of the Zasu Manor estate. Before 1824, affluent Riga residents used the grounds as summer residences during the growth of manor culture. Albert Wolfsmith later owned the property and produced Riga Black Herbal Kuncena Balsam and Wolfschmidt Kümmel.

In 1926, the Latvian government purchased the manor and ten hectares from Wolfsmith’s heirs. The existing orangeries, park, and orchards then supported the creation of the botanical garden. During the Second World War, soldiers used the buildings and greenhouses as barracks. Lecture rooms, laboratories, storage spaces, and work tools now occupy the historic interiors.