Built in 1344 as a veritable fraternity house for the Blackheads guild of unmarried German merchants, the original house was decimated in 1941 and flattened by the Soviets seven years later. Somehow the original blueprints survived and an exact replica of this fantastically ornate structure was completed in 2001 for Rīga’s 800th birthday.
At the time of writing the house was serving as the temporary home of Latvia's president and off limits for travelers – apart from the tourist office located inside it.
