Description of the attraction
Berga's Bazaar is a historical ensemble of buildings between Elizabetes, Dzirnavu and Marijas Streets in Riga, designed by Konstantin Peksens.
Kristaps Kalnins was born in 1843 on the Berzmuiža farm (Dobele region, Latvia) in the family of a farm laborer. At the age of 16, he reached Riga and from that time on he began to introduce himself as Kristaps Berg, since all the advantageous places in the city were in the possession of the Germans. Later he became a famous housekeeper, major industrialist and public figure. In 1875, Berg built his first apartment building at 10 Elizabetes Street together with the architect Janis Baumanis, who subsequently designed it for him annually.
In 1887, the construction of a bazaar was conceived as a shopping complex for pedestrians, which, according to Berg's idea, would include a commercial courtyard, a passage and a gallery. The buildings on the side of Marijas Street have acquired their eclectic facades. The next year, buildings appeared from the side of Dzirnavu Street. And 4 years later, they were joined by a shopping line with a luxurious entrance from Elizabetes Street. In 1895, the last, the poorest and hastily built, 4-storey plastered building appeared in the side streets of the bazaar, where the hotel is currently located. And finally, in 1900, the 6-storey and most luxurious bazaar house was erected, located at the corner of Marijas and Elizabetes streets. 131 places were equipped for traders, which were immediately occupied.
Berg's bazaar turned out to be unique. But Berg himself, when laying the first stones, had a different opinion about the purpose of his brainchild. Kristaps Kalnins, being a simple guy from the village, wanted to feel more of his own spirit in his establishment. The upper floors were given over to inns, where in 1888 800 performers were accommodated at the III Song Festival. There were also stables in Berg's Bazaar.
After Berg's death, his sons took care of the bazaar at first regularly, but they did not build large buildings here. In 1909, the house on Dzirnavu Street was equipped with sewerage and water supply.
In 1912, Arved Berg bought a new land on the side of Elizabetes Street. Here he was going to remove a wooden house built in 1815, in which he did not see any value or benefit, and to build a 5-storey apartment building in its place. The Bergs generally disliked wooden houses in the bazaar, but despite this, they did not demolish 2 out of 3 houses. Ultimately, however, the Bergs' ideas never materialized.
After the First World War, the bazaar owners did not care what was happening with pre-war pride. For the sake of profit, the Bergi repaired all the arcades along the streets, forced the courtyards with workshops full of scandals. But in 1982, it was planned to demolish half of the buildings and, in the next 18 years, build an impeccable socialist paradise for shopping, car parking and management, whose borders would adjoin Krisjan Barona Street. The reality was not so cruel, as Berg's heirs in 1994 organized the reconstruction of the Berg bazaar much softer and more delicate than they achieved its original gloss.
Currently, the only antique market in Riga is organized twice a month in Berg's Bazaar, where you can buy antique interior items and many other things that witness the past.
Also here you will be offered the most interesting works of Latvian artisans, and at the Green Bazaar you can get acquainted with the ideas of ecological agriculture in Latvia and the so-called Slow Food. Connoisseurs of good cuisine can taste the special quality of this food on site from the chefs of the best restaurants in Riga.
