No. 7 Atmodas Street

No. 7 Atmodas Street around 1900

No. 7 Atmodas Street in 2014

In 1559, the Courland Diocese gave as a feudal right the plot of land with the pub on it, in fact, donated it to Carl Szoege (in the suzerainty letter - Carll Soyge), who two years later was appointed by the last Bishop of Courland Magnus as a judge or Vogt in his Courland possessions. This suzerainty letter from 1559 was signed by the Dean of the Diocese of Courland, Ulrich von Behr (1532-1585), "in our castle in Aizpute" (Olryck Ber auf unserm Schlosse Hasenpoth). The pub has no name in this document.

This plot of land belonged to the Szoege (Szöge, Zöge) family, who later added the name Manteuffel to their surname, until 1742, when Gotthardt von Manteuffel - Szoege sold it to Georg Johann von Medem. From him it came to the Korffs, until in 1763 Agnes Elisabeth von Korff sold the property to the merchant Abraham Behr. It was bought from Behr in 1789 by the District Councilor (Landrat) of Piltene, Friedrich Ewald von Fircks.

We managed to find the name of the pub here only in the documents of the end of the 18th century and in the plan of Aizpute in 1797, in which it was called the so-called Domkrog - Dome Pub (der sogenante Tumschen = Krug). The word "Tumschen" here has nothing to do with the Latvian word "dark". However, there is a connection with the first known owner of the land plot - the Diocese of Courland and its Dean. At the time of writing, the word 'Doms' was written in German as 'Dom' or as 'Thum' or 'Tum'. But the Latvian's ear heard - "dark", so - the Dark Pub.

In the plan of 1797, two closely adjacent buildings are marked on this plot. Presumably, the pub was on the corner of Atmodas (Awakening) and Jāņa (John’s) Streets, but the second, which was much smaller than the pub building at that time, was inhabited by Salomon Wulff in 1797, a merchant of the 2nd Guild, Joseph Danziger, a merchant of the 3rd Guild, and Laser Moses, the citizen of the 3rd Guild.

In 1811, the innkeeper here was Johann Hellriegel, who lived with his family in his own house on № 1 Atmodas Street.

In 1814, the property belonged to the eldest son of the deceased District Councilor (Landrat) von Fircks, the judge of the Aizpute District, chamberlain Christoph Karl Magnus von Fircks (1772-1855), who himself lived in a house inherited from his father on № 10 Kuldīgas Street. In 1825, Firks leased his property located on Plettenberg’s land, the so-called Dome Pub, to the Jew Solomon Hirschfeld for 99 years, who in 1830 transferred his lease rights to the brothers Friedrich Friedrich Christoph and Ernst Siegmund Siegel. When Ernst Sigmund died, Domkrog was put up for auction in 1840 because of his outstanding debts. In the auction, Baruch Michelsohn bought the collateral for 2,500 Silver Rubles. By 1850, Baruch and his wife Pauline had borrowed 2,329 Silver Rubles against the mortgage of the house, so in 1852 he preferred to sell his right of possession of Domkrog for 3,400 Rubles to David Dawidow. However, Dawidow also sold the pub a year later - for 3,200 Rubles to the merchant Moses Bernitz.

The next owner was the Mayor and merchant Carl Wiedner, who bought the Dome Pub in 1856 for 3,950 Rubles.

Like Cīrava Pub at № 1 Atmodas Street and Amalienburg at № 5 Atmodas Street, Dome Pub was not under town jurisdiction until 1858, therefore it did not pay taxes to the municipality.

There is no evidence when № 7 Atmodas Street got the look shown in the photo. This may have happened when the successful merchant Carl Wiedner became the owner. According to the data of 1863, that year the house was relatively smaller in terms of area than the residential building on № 1 Katoļu (Catholic) Street, which suggests that the two-storey building of the house was built after 1863.

Wiedner's name can also be found in the 1868 list of tavern taxpayers.

In 1870, the owners of Dome Pub became Carl Wiedner heirs.

In 1879, a shop of the merchant's widow Wilhelmine Wiedner was in her own house. The store was run by her son Johann Carl Gottlieb Wiedner. In the same year, the inheritance was divided between the brothers Johann Carl Gottlieb and Carl Ernst Wiedner. This property together with the other one on № 1 Jāņa Street is valued at 16,000 Rubles.

In 1884, in the present house on № 7 Atmodas Street, Johann Carl Gottlieb Wiedner, a merchant of the 2nd Guild, had a shop selling colonial goods, consumer goods, tobacco, cigars and wine. The store was run by the owner's brother Carl Ernst Wiedner. Above the store was a warehouse for colonial goods and consumer goods.

The house also had a distillation room run by Jeanot (Jānis) Papīrs and a pub with retail sale of alcoholic beverages.

In 1887, the owners of the Dome Pub changed again when it was bought together with № 1 Jāņa Street for 14,000 rubles by Lina Thal.

In the same year, Janne (Schanno) Intewitsch (son of Ints) Papīrs had a wholesale warehouse with drinks for sale. In 1890, besides pub Papīrs had a wine shop here. In 1893, Ivan Intewitsch Papīrs had a wholesale warehouse and a pub, but in 1897 a wine warehouse and a pub, in 1899 a wine and alcohol wholesale warehouse and a pub.

On January 4, 1900, Lina Thal received permission from the Town Council to open a hotel in her own house. It is not known whether the hotel was opened.

In 1910 Lina Thal donated her property to Abraham (he is also Abram) Thal, but in 1933 the property rights to the property of Abraham Thal, who died in 1925, were secured by his 6 heirs, managed by the widow Rosa Thal, who lived here until the autumn of 1941.

In 1943, the Latvian Land Company became the owner.

The attached photo shows that the former Dome Pub house has a Neumann and Wiedner beer shop for on-site drinking and takeaway. Other signs tell about the Sankowskis manufactured goods store, the confectionery and bakery of an unknown owner, as well as the fact that the headquarters of the Aizpute Cycling Association "Tūrists" (Tourist), which started its operation in 1899, was here. Unfortunately, what is written on the other two signs is not legible.

At the beginning of the 20th century, besides the Neumann and Wiedner beer shop, there were both Robert Neumann and Karl Kunstmann bakeries, Karl Feldmann colonial goods store and Abram Thal small items store.

Before the First World War, there was a Wiedner and Co beer shop, but during the war, Johanna Scher's tavern with beer and wine trade and food serving, Leopold Bordel manufactured goods store and Karl Weideman's colonial goods shop.

In the 1920s, there were many activities in Thal’s House: the private practice of dentist Rosa Thal and a 2nd class tavern of Matias Untenberg, Ansis Bandenieks, Krišs Jonelis, Susmann Huhnau teahouses, Leopold Bordel manufactured goods store, Jēkabs Rudzītis colonial goods and small items shop, as well as sewing machine shop of company Singer, Heinrich Vītols meat shop, Julius Gamper's hairdresser's and Itzig Siwa's small items store, later Sahra Siwa's colonial and tobacco goods store, which in its advertisements offered at reasonable prices for wholesale and retail prices of herring, sugar, flour, salt, paints, cement, barbed wire, machine oil, and clogs, cart accessories, brushes and tobacco products from all Latvian tobacco factories, and nothing is missing from household accessories.

In 1924, Thal has shown that in this house he has 11 trade premises and 7 apartments with 15 rooms.

In the 1930s, there were Jehon Siwa's colonial goods store, Susmann Huhnau’s tea shop and bakery, Lina Kienkas's meat and sausage store and Leopold Bordel, and later Sarah Bordel's manufactured goods store.

Nowadays - Council property. On the first floor of the building - hairdresser, shop, beauty salon, on the upper floors - apartments.

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