Atmodas Street House No. 40

„Herzenberg’s House”, № 40 Atmodas Street and Kalvenes Street around 1940

„Herzenberg’s House”, № 40 Atmodas Street and Kalvenes Street in 2014

Before entering Kalvenes Street, let's linger at the two-storey building on the right side of the photo, which is the last house on the right side of № 40 Atmodas Street.

At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the plot of land on which this building is located and the one on which it is next - at № 2 Kalvenes Street, had the same plot number. It was located on Kalvenes Street and at the end of the 18th century belonged to the tailor Ernst Friedrich Glaesky. In 1811, Carl Ernst Gablonsky, a Zunft Master shoemaker, lived here in his house. At the time of the census of that year, when only men were listed, 6 Jews, 2 Prussians and 2 Germans lived here.

In 1820, the property was bought by the Prussian citizen Friedrich Leopold Liedtke, a Town Alderman and miller master. At the time of the 1834 census, 13 men and 7 women lived here. There were no Jews or Latvians among them.

In 1847, Barbara Charlotte Liedtke inherited the property of the miller master and gave it to her foster son Johan Andreas Liedtke. In 1863 he already had two plots of land here. The largest house and backyard building were in № 2 Kalvenes Street, the smallest residential house was in № 40 Atmodas Street. The first was masonry, the second - wooden. In the same year, both properties were inherited by Amalia Benigna Liedtke.

In 1869, both plots of land were bought by Abraham Apfelbaum for 3,600 Rubles, in 1884 the owner was Abram's wife Thekla Apfelbaum.

The list of merchants and craftsmen of Aizpute in 1884 allows to conclude that № 40 Atmodas Street was a residential house, because, unlike № 2 Kalvenes Street (see Kalvenes Street), only butcher Moses Foss is registered at this address.

Also, at the end of the 19th century, the owners of both plots were the Apfelbaums, and in 1899 they were bought at auction by the Mayor of Aizpute Wilhelm Groth, who divided the property in 1903 and sold № 40 Atmodas Street for 900 Rubles to the miller Christoph Neumann, a merchant of the 2nd Guild, but retained № 2 Kalvenes Street to himself.

Neumann had just sold his old windmill with a large plot of land on Kalvenes Street to Gertrud Lindenberg and decided to open a hotel here, therefore the old wooden house was demolished and the two - storey house shown in the photo built in 1904, the first floor of which is masonry, the second - wooden. In the summer of the same year, the Town Council allowed Neumann to open a hotel in his house. It was Christoph Neumann and Johann Wiedner's hotel «Курляндiя» or "Courland". Unfortunately, in February of the following year, the 63-year-old miller died, leaving a grieving widow with four small and seven adult children, who inherited this along with other properties. The hotel "Courland" was taken over by the merchant Wilhelm Schenk, who ran his 2nd class hotel in the House of Neumann until the First World War. During the war, it was already the hotel of the deceased miller's son Ernst Neumann, selling beer, wine, tea, coffee and food. In the post-war years, until the death of Ernst Neumann in 1930, he had here both a 2nd class hotel "Kurzeme" with initially 8, later only 4 rooms, and a 2nd class tavern.

In 1928, there was a bakery of the Aizpute Workers' Cooperative here.

After the death of Ernst Neumann at 40 Atmodas Street, Kristaps Pujen's convenience store was for a short time, then W. Kannt's grocery store, and later the cafe of the Aizpute Branch of the Latvian War Invalids Union. Due to difficulties in paying the tavern tax, the War Invalids withdrew from the tavern concession granted in 1937, which was then granted by the Town Council to Schanno (Schlom Saalkind) Jude.

In 1936, Anna Antiņa registered an inn at this address.

On January 16, 1937, in order to meet the residents and shopkeepers of Aizpute - the recipients and shippers of goods, the Railway Board organized a "direct goods traffic" between Kalvene Station and Aizpute, opening 40 Atmodas Street Aizpute office of the State Railway [road] transport "Lattrans".

In December 1938, Anna - Ženija Antiņa was recognized as the sole heir of the property at № 40 Atmodas Street.

Nowadays - municipal property. On the first floor of the building there is a tailor's workshop, on the second - apartments.

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