JPG

The Cat House is named for two black felines perched on the points of its towers. Not only did the beasts curse their first sculptor, who fell to his death while putting them up, but their purpose was designed to provoke controversy and cause trouble. In the early years of the 20th century, the Latvian owner of the building was excluded from joining a powerful Merchant's Guild across the road by its ethnocentric German occupants. He ordered the cats to be turned around exposing their butts under raised tails to the neighbour's windows opposite as an insult to his enemies. They were finally turned around after a lengthy legal battle and he was eventually admitted to the Guild.In another strange twist of fate, the image of the black cat is now the official symbol of the city of Riga.