Liepaja, Latvia, is the home of extremes in architecture from the beautiful late 19th century downtown to its dead, both artistically and habitably, Soviet blocks (or is it blocs?). During my visit in 2014 I didn’t get a chance to explore outside the downtown area, as I was there for work, but if there is one thing to see, that is it.

Beautiful architecture dominates downtown as much as Russia has dominated Latvia, except in a pleasant, non-Stalin way. It’s everywhere and whole city blocks are composed of odd, artistic structures. Most of it is Art Nouveau. The style was popular in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, especially in Eastern Europe where it can still be found in good numbers in places like Riga and Liepaja.

As far as styles go, it feels more like a “concept” or an “idea” than a solid style. There are no hard and fast rules on what it “should” look like. Art Nouveau lacked rigidness and felt organic, elements of art could be added anywhere they just felt natural even if it wasn’t “correct.” Pillars are nice, but pillars made of angels are nicer. If a shape could be flowery, why not make it flowery? This fancifulness makes a building in the style as much of a work of art worth admiring as a statue or painting. It’s easy to see why it was popular.

Built in 1906 for the Russian Eastern Asian Shipping Company this building now serves as the regional courthouse.

Liepaja is very aware of its artistic heritage and thankfully makes the most of it. Their board of tourism has multiple suggested walking routes to allow visitors to get the most of their time in town. I partially followed one near Graudu (Grain) Street, which is one of the most characterful parts of downtown. Maybe not strictly Art Nouveau, but all styles represented where entertaining to look at as there is a certain faded beauty here. The grand facades are chipped and worn, but well-maintained and every one of these buildings is unique. And once you’ve seen one, you want to see more of them.

Building on Grain Street

Off the suggested walking paths there are more pleasant buildings to find. I walked from one to another, just finding more until my afternoon was almost gone.

Former Liepaja State Gymnasium No. 1

Besides the Art Nouveau there is the old Soviet war port, Karosta. Liepaja was home to a naval base that began operations in 1890, as a port for the Imperial Russian Navy under Czar Alexander III and ended operations with the collapse of the Soviet Union.  You can also tour underground tunnels and defenses left over from both the Soviet and Czarist periods.

Though I didn’t get to visit Karosta I do have a fond memory of it. While riding a small boat inching its way back to port in rough seas catching sight of the giant gleaming golden onion dome of St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Karosta made me feel hopeful we would get back to land alive and not flip over and die of hypothermia in the cold, merciless sea.