Atmodas Street Houses No. 21 and 23

№ 21 and № 23 Atmodas Street around 1900

№ 21 and № 23 Atmodas Street in 2014

First, let's look at the one-storey house with a mezzanine at № 21 Atmodas Street, which can be seen at the first linden trees, that can also be seen in the previous photo.

At the end of the 18th century, this plot of land belonged to the chamberlain von Keyserlingk, the owner of Gavieze (Gawesen), Lāņi (Groß-Lahne), Vārve (Warwe) and several other manors, from whom it was bought in 1798 by Moses Nathan, a Jewish merchant from Kabile (Kabille), and sold to another Jewish merchant, Jacob Heymann, in 180, but Heymann two weeks later to coat and saddle master Andreas Johann Koch. It was inherited from Koch in 1843 by his heirs, who sold the inheritance in 1850 to saddler master Alexander Schroeder and his wife Amalia Schroeder.

In 1857, the Schroeders borrowed money for the construction of a new residential house, and in 1863, Alexander Schroeder, the saddle master and Court Bailiff, had insured his house with three court yard buildings for quite some amount for those days sum of 4,050 Silver Rubles. 24 inhabitants lived in 18 rooms. Gregor von der Osten - Sacken has rented two rooms for himself and his coach, Toms Vējkājs, and Hugo von Hahn the other two for himself and his Latvian servant Jākobs Kālmanis.

There was a manufactured goods shop in the house.

There were also 3 backyard buildings. Two luxury horses were kept.

In 1879, the property already belonged to Schroeder's madam, probably a widow, from whom the Council Secretary Wilhelm Ulich bought it for 5,732 Rubles that year. Both that year and in 1884, there was a small items store of Selig Gabetts.

In 1892, this property was auctioned off and bought for 6,500 Rubles by Ludolf Mühlhausen, who set up a typography here (probably in one of the courtyard barns). In 1893 he had a book and stationery shop, a printing and bookbinding shop at that address, and in 1898 a book printing house, a pharmacy paper and board factory, and a book and stationery store.

In 1900, Milhausen sold this property for 9,500 Rubles to butcher Karl Schiermann. Thus, since the beginning of the 20th century, it became known as the Shirman’s house. He had a butcher's and a sausage factory in his backyard, and a shop selling sausages and meat in the street house.

In 1928, Schiermann asked the Town Council for permission to lower the floor level by removing the basement and demolishing the street stairs.

In 1930, this 1-storey wooden residential house with an extension had 2 apartments - 6 rooms and 2 kitchens, as well as 3 shop rooms and 2 workshops.

On October 25, 1939, the property rights were secured in the name of Karl Schiermann's son Arthur Jānis (Johann) Schiermann, but after his emigration to Germany on June 11, 1940, Latvijas Kredītbanka (Latvian Credit Bank) took over.

At the beginning of the 20th century, until the First World War, the street house had the Altberg’s stationery and book store. At first, the store was run by Wilhelm Altberg, who also had a small book publishing house in Aizpute, later by his daughter Wilhelmine. Until 1908, there was also Josef Matze’s gold and silverware, as well as a watch shop, and later a Moses Josephart watch store, which was located in this house until the end of the 1930s.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was also Elīze Jākobsone manufactory and haberdashery goods store.

In the 1920s, Schiermann’s House had Sara Back's book and stationery store, Hirsch Back's dental practice.

From 1924, David Levi's trading company was here, where he traded colonial and manufactured goods until 1929, but from 1929 both manufactured and haberdashery goods, as well as clothing and footwear.

Since the 1920s, Paul Tonig's sausage workshop has had a meat and sausage shop where one could buy dried pork and beef hams, dried pork heads, minced meat sausage, Berlin sausage, groats, liver and frying sausages and other meat products.

There was also Arthur Schiermann's necessities store, in the 1930s Arnolds Pujēns grocery store and David Levi manufactured goods and haberdashery store.

Nowadays - municipal property, where the premises are rented by beauty salons and a hairdresser.

Now let's look at the former Central Hotel on № 23 Atmodas Street.

In 1799, there was a wooden house of Hirsch Samuel, a Jewish merchant and houseowner of the 1st Guild. The house due to unpaid loan in 1802 became the property of the the creditor - chamberlain von Keyserlingk, the owner of Gavieze (Gawese), Lāņi (Groß-Lahne), Vārve (Warwe) and several other manors. Wanting to recover the loan, Keyserlingk sold the house in 1803 to Abram Moses, a Jewish merchant from Aizpute, for 1,700 Albert Reichsthalers. Six days later, the new owner resold it for 1,775 Talers to another Jewish merchant, Herz Danziger.

In 1822, it was already the property of Karl Becker, who sold it for 700 Silver Rubles to Georg Heinrich Kramer, the Attorney of Supreme Court, from whom it was bought in 1852 by the Inspector of the Aizpute District schools, Dr. Ludwig Koehler for 4,500 Rubles. The purchase amount indicates that sometime before 1852 the house was either thoroughly rebuilt or a completely new one was built.

Judging by the picture “Aizpute District School” (p. 32) inserted in Theodor Zeifert's book "Brivzemnieks", Riga, 1929, this school once existed in this house. In addition, Zeiferts concludes that Fricis Brīvzemnieks (Latvian writer) studied in this house.

In 1863, there were 2 wooden living houses, a separate shop building, as well as 1 masonry and 2 wooden barns / stables on the plot of land of the School Inspector and the Assessor of Teachers Collegium. Everything is insured for 4,610 Silver Rubles.

There were two shops in the building - one selling alcoholic beverages, the other - farmers' products.

In 1878, this property was bought from Koehler's heirs for 3,600 Rubles by the postmaster’s wife Hedwig Rosenberger. In 1879, Meier Margolin's small items store was there, the St. Petersburg Fire Insurance Agency managed by the landlord, and the agency “Salamander”.

In 1880, the postmaster’s wife made a good profit by selling the property to the Mayor’s von Simolin wife, Antonia, for 6,200 Rubles. On August 31, 1898, Baroness von Simolin sold it for 4,000 Rubles to the merchant Teodor Tiede, who opened a hotel here already on July 1 of the same year. On December 23 of the same year, the Town Council allowed the hotel on Lielā (The Big) Street, now at Teodor Tiede’s House, to be opened by Rudolf Treugut, and, according to the photo, the Aizpute Cycling Association "Tūrists" (Tourist) was also located here.

It should be noted that the doctor of Aizpute, Julius von Haller (1863-1914), wrote at the end of 1899 that there were no special accommodation houses in Aizpute, except for pubs. Probably Haller considered this hotel as one of the pubs in Aizpute. One thing is clear, however - in 1902, hotelier Rudolf Treugut bought all the property from Tiede, who had already become the Town Councilor, for 5,000 Rubles, but in 1904 he was forced to sell it for 7,000 to Liepaja beermaker Andreas Dollinger, from whom he had borrowed money against the mortgage which he could not repay.

In addition to the hotel Dollinger rented, he also had a tavern and a beer warehouse at the address. Unfortunately, on June 29, (July11) 1913, a fire broke out in Dollinger's House, which spread rapidly throughout the building. However, already on October 7, the Governor of Courland approved the drawings of the hotel "Centrāle" submitted by Dollinger, the owner of the Liepāja brewery “Ramzaj & Co”, and in May 1914 Dollinger informed the Construction Department of the Courland Provincial Board that the hotel was ready and asked permission to open it.

At the same time, the Governor of Courland received a request from Aizpute Council not to allow the opening of a tavern so close to the school (№ 22 Atmodas Street), to which the Deputy Governor's Senior Adviser explained on July 2, 1914 that it cannot be considered as the opening of a new hotel as it was built on the same grounds. In addition, the hotel tavern did not stop working during the construction of the hotel, when it was moved to the nearby Hunau house (25 Atmodas Street).

It was also pointed out that the tavern's windows were not facing the school and that there would be four shops and only two entrance doors to the hotel premises and the tavern next to it, and that the Dollinger hotel was one of the top commercial establishments near the school, and with that Dollinger received permission to open a hotel.

Since then, there is a two-storey brick house in this place, which was owned by Dollingers until October 28, 1928, when he sold his Aizpute property for 30,000 Lats to Marianna, Jankels daughter (Jankelowna) Glückmann, born Roloff, who, under the then civil law, required the permission of her husband in order to purchase real estate, which was also given to her by Tuvje, Scholoms son (Scholomowitsch) Glückmann.

During the First World War, the entire building was occupied by German military personnel, but in 1919 the "Central Hotel" opened its doors again, the owner of which was F. Ginters (Günter), but in 1921 Alma Gintere had an inn there.

In 1920, the Chancellery of the Head of Aizpute District Dāvis Miesiņš was here.

At least since 1920, Friedrich Rosenstein's book and stationery store has been here. In the 1920s, there was also Teodor Tiede's tableware, lamp and glass shop, and in 1922 the Aizpute Branch of the Latvian Youth Union "which opened a library in its premises in the Central Hotel building and set up a reading room”.

On September 4, 1923, the Town Council allowed the Aizpute Hunters' Association to open their own cafe on 23 Lielā (The Big) Street. In the same year, there was also a pub of Central Hotel in this house.

In 1925, the restaurant of the Central Hotel was closed, but there was a tavern of the Hunters' Association, the Aizpute Branch of the Liepāja Agricultural and Industrial Machinery Wholesaler “Central”.

Unfortunately, in 1928, the "Central Hotel" was liquidated. That year, Kristvaldis Sīmanis had inn here, in 1929 - Osvalds Jansons fruit and berry wine shop.

In 1927, the limited partnership "Machine and Hardware Store Central" started operating here, the first owner of which was Hink Hirschmann, which was replaced in the same year by J. Brants and J. Blumbergs. In 1929, the limited partnership was replaced by the machine and hardware store "Lakta" (Anvil), the owner - Salman Fischer, the sales manager - Blumbergs. In 1930, the owner was Jākobs Blumbergs.

In the autumn of 1932, Anna Rožkalne opened the teahouse "Centrs" on the site of the former hotel inn, which offered hot lunch, tea, coffee and biscuits, but in 1935, the inn "Central" was waiting for guests here, offering visitors sleeping accommodation, cheap prices and friendly service.

In the 1930s, there was a Solomon Fisher machine and hardware shop, as well as a Paula Blumberg’s hardware store and a manufactured goods shop of Tuvje Glückmann.

Nowadays - unmanaged private property.

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