{"id":1907,"date":"2025-06-08T17:17:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-08T17:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/?post_type=product&p=1907"},"modified":"2025-07-09T16:28:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T16:28:49","slug":"house-of-the-vanadzinis-copy-copy-copy-copy-2","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/visi-stasti\/house-of-the-vanadzinis-copy-copy-copy-copy-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Merchant’s House"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The pride and jewel of C\u0113sis Riga Street \u2014 that’s what you could call the Merchant’s House, which like an elegant gentleman of respectable age has been adorning the town’s main street for more than 230 years. This building, constructed in 1788, is the most luxurious of the residential buildings in C\u0113sis historic center and a unique example of 18th century small-town main street architecture in Latvia. <\/p>\n

The history of the Merchant’s House begins in the medieval part of C\u0113sis, where two adjacent plots of land were located along the main road \u2014 Riga Street. After combining these plots, an enterprising merchant and coppersmith Jonas Gustav Fovelin purchased the property from councilman \u0136i\u0161elis in 1778. The new owner was a man of taste and vision \u2014 he immediately had the old wooden residential building torn down and in its place built an impressive stone house, which today we know as the Merchant’s House. <\/p>\n

The facade of the house is like an open history book, showing elements of both late Baroque and early Classicism styles. The middle part of the facade features a projection that’s crowned with a pediment with an oval window \u2014 just like the owner of an elegant monocle, the house looks upon the town’s life with dignity and observation. A curved entrance portal, mirrors decorating the pilaster strips, wavy ornaments in the space between floors, corner rustication and ornamented window frames \u2014 everything shows that Fovelin spared no expense to create a true architectural gem. <\/p>\n

The building has a gabled cornice roof with one semi-flattened end, giving it a coquettish look \u2014 as if an old-fashioned lady had put on an elegantly tilted hat. The first floor window openings are covered with segmental arches, the windows have curved crosspieces, while the second floor windows have partially preserved original ornamented fittings \u2014 like fine jewelry on a respectable lady’s outfit. <\/p>\n

Particularly noteworthy are the building’s front doors \u2014 richly decorated with wood carvings and recognized as a locally significant art monument. These doors made in Classicism style are especially highlighted by the sun placed in the center \u2014 like a warm greeting to everyone entering the house. <\/p>\n

The building’s layout is as well-thought-out as its exterior. The composition is symmetrical with a mantel chimney in the center, an entrance vestibule with a grand staircase and a hallway on the courtyard side. The first floor was originally covered with elliptical brick vaults and was lower than the second \u2014 the main residential floor, which contained the master’s family rooms. <\/p>\n

Over time, the house has had several owners and renovations, yet has maintained its historical charm. 1977. In 1977, the building was restored, fixing damage caused by time and renewing its original splendor. Today, the Merchant’s House is not only a witness to history but also a living part of C\u0113sis, where modern functions harmoniously coexist with a rich cultural-historical heritage. <\/p>\n

Research materials used in creating this description:
\n<\/em>M\u0101ris Lukai\u017es, architect, article “Architect’s notes on old photographs – Riga Street”
\n<\/em>L\u012bga Lansberga, Project “Latvian minor estates and castle manors and other interesting places”
\nCollections of C\u0113sis Museum and Central Library
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Before the 1977 restoration, the building’s front wall was bulging outward, and it was fixed in a pretty unusual way \u2013 they tore down the second floor on both sides of the projection, put in a reinforced concrete strip, and then rebuilt the demolished part from scratch.<\/p>\n

In the historic “mantel chimney” with its glazed end, they created a new and very unique staircase area during the restoration, making a one-of-a-kind architectural solution that combines history with modern functionality.<\/p>\n

Facts<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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  • 1665: On the right side of the plot stands Jesuit Olaf’s house, which belongs to Vitem, but the land belongs to the heirs of the deceased pastor Meyer.<\/li>\n
  • 1688: On the right side stands saddler Adolf’s house with a garden.<\/li>\n
  • 1693: On the left side is the Ninnigat heirs’ plot, partly built up with wooden structures, partly with brick buildings; on the right side \u2013 Jesuit Olaf’s, then Liman’s, now Hans Mi\u0137elis Olof’s wooden house.<\/li>\n
  • 1724: On the left side stands merchant Gotfried Hauchke’s wooden house with two gardens; on the right side \u2013 a small wooden house belonging to mayor Johann Gech, where merchant Heinrich Johann Teftman lives.<\/li>\n
  • 1778: Merchant and bailiff Jonas Gustav Fowelin buys the plot from councilman \u0136i\u0161elis.<\/li>\n
  • 1788: Construction of the brick residential building (the current Merchant’s House) is completed.<\/li>\n
  • 1789: Guild elder Fowelin’s property includes a wooden workshop and the newly built brick residential building.<\/li>\n
  • 1819: Fowelin’s heirs mortgage the house for 10 years to medical doctor Heinrich Georg Meyer for 2000 silver rubles.<\/li>\n
  • 1820: The building is mortgaged to councilman and bailiff Wilhelm Andrej Cimmerdahl for 2000 silver rubles.<\/li>\n
  • 1822: Wilhelm Andrej Cimmerdahl buys the building.<\/li>\n
  • 1866: The house is inherited by the councilman’s widow Charlotte Cimmerdahl, n\u00e9e Miller.<\/li>\n
  • 1867: The house and garden are inherited by Anna \u0160olka, n\u00e9e Kolman, Julia Kolman, and Eduard Kolman.<\/li>\n
  • 1868: The Kolman brothers and sisters sell the R\u012bgas Street 14 plot with its house, which had been previously added to the building, to locksmith Friedrich Bolzmann. <\/li>\n
  • 1909: The building belongs to E. Kozlovsky.<\/li>\n
  • 1977: The building undergoes restoration, the bulging front wall is reinforced, the gate arch is restored, and a new staircase area is installed in the historic “mantel chimney.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1391,"template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[204,206],"product_tag":[317,208,358],"class_list":{"0":"post-1907","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-cesis-house","7":"product_cat-residential-buildings","8":"product_tag-shop","9":"product_tag-us","10":"product_tag-workshop","12":"first","13":"instock","14":"shipping-taxable","15":"product-type-simple"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/1907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=1907"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=1907"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cesustasti.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=1907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}