STAIRCASE RENOVATION

Four-storey wooden staircase with wooden load bearing walls and skylight in Old Town of Riga, Grecinieku street 26. Building has a rich history, especially during 18th and 19th century when it was uesd as a city residence by Governor-Generals of Baltics. By now, after many rebuildings, only proportion of the space and scale of the staircase show the past splendour.

A brief history here:

“The history of the name Grēcinieku Street dates back to the 14th century. In the 14th - 16th centuries, the plots on Grēcinieku Street belonged to the rich merchants of the city and the members of the town hall.[..] Grēcinieku street used to be called Bagāto Street or Rich Street (platea divitum in Latin). The historical name can first be found in the written sources dating back to 1387.[..] The importance of Rich Street in the lives of wealthy residents is evidenced by the historically large plots of land on site.[..] Around 1512, a house was located on Rich Street, along with five warehouses across the length of the plot. [..] There is a special period in the history of the building at 26 Grēcinieku Street for around a century when the building was used as the city residence by the governors-general of the Baltic province, after the occupation of the territories of Vidzeme and Estonia in 1709 by Peter the Great .[..] A radical turning point in the history began in 1865 when the building at Grēcinieku 26 was sold to Shaar & Caviezel.[..] Shaar & Caviezel\'s plans were extensive, as they planned to mostly demolish the old building and construct a new one. All indications point to most of the existing building being demolished. This is illustrated by the comparative analysis of the plans - the structure of the newly created cellars is radically different from the old ones. However, both the empirical experience of exploring historic buildings and the individual walls and volumes shown in the plans, which coincide with the plans of the 18th and 20th centuries, allows us to express hope that more than just border walls remain in the new building. Architect H. Geigenmillers, master mason V. G. Dānbers, and master carpenter Kārlis Helvigs were authorised to be responsible for the construction. Likely, H. Geigenmillers was also the author of the building project.[..] Shaar & Caviezel traded in wine. Accordingly, the large vaulted cellars (including the areas under the yard) were built.”

/ I. Dirveiks. Rīga, Grēcinieku iela 26. Dati par apbūves vēsturi. 2006.g. /