Jelgavas street Houses No. 1 and 3

1 and 3 Jelgavas Street in the 1930s

1 and 3 Jelgavas Street in 2014

According to the Plan of Aizpute Town in 1797, at that time Jelgavas Street started at Jāņa Street and ended behind the house in the current № 31 Atmodas Street, where it has become the Great Highway to Jelgava, which was almost undeveloped. As construction increased, the highway turned into Jelgavas Street, which has retained its name to this day.

The one-storey wooden house behind the Taube photo workshop was on № 1 Jelgavas Street.

In 1797, this plot of land, which was bought by Johann Friedrich Bartholt in 1793 for 400 Albert thalers, had not yet been built, but at least at the time of the 1811 census, a house was already here, owned by blacksmith’s widow Anna Maria Elisabeth Barthold, living in poverty and lack of means with her 7 children. Teacher Georg Friedrich Skubowius and Kuldiga (Goldingen) District School Inspector Dr. Ulrich von Zimmermann also lived there. Later, the house belonged to the widow's eldest son, a goldsmith and silversmith Ernst Bernhard Bartholt, called Bergholz. He sold a dwelling house and part of the garden in 1854 for 600 Silver Rubles to Levin Rappeport, who in turn sold it to Friedrich Lange in 1860, and Lange in 1864 for 1,700 Silver Rubles to Johann von Korff. The part of the garden that Bernhard Bartholt did not sell in 1854 was bought by Korff in 1868 at auction for 510 Silver Rubles.

At the end of the 19th century, this property belonged to the potter Wilhelm Julius Ulmer. Here was his potter's workshop without shop premises. He worked with two assistants in the workshop, but later became a small retailer and set up a shop in the potter's workshop.

In 1905, the right to this property was secured, as recorded in the Land Register, by John Rath, who had bought it from Ulmer's heirs. The shoemaker master Rath had his workshop here, but after the First World War John became Jānis (Latvian version of John), and in the 1930s he had a tea room and a grocery store in his own house, but on November 14, 1939, Rath and his family repatriated to Germany.

At the beginning of the 1920s, K. Erdmans, a contractor for construction works, had registered at this address, but on July 7, 1926, the Town Council allowed Liza Vildane to set up a teahouse on 1 Jelgavas Street.

As the aforementioned house has not survived to this day, the numbering of the houses on the left side of the street has been changed and № 1 has now been assigned to a two-storey brick house that was once № 3.

In 1798, carpenter Heinrich Tietgen twice borrowed money for the construction of a new stone house on this plot, but in 1800 he borrowed against the mortgage of the newly built house.

In 1803, at the request of the creditor pharmacist Michael Boetke, Tietgen's property was put up for an auction. It was bought by Johann Friedrich Gehling, the miller of Aizpute Castle Manor.

In 1809, the miller master sold a residential house with a stable built by Tietgen, as well as a garden and a hay meadow to Johann Christoph Zahn, a miller from Castle Manor who came from Saxony and settled here with his family.

In 1827, this was already the property of Carl Ludwig Radsewsky, the tenant of the Castle Manor mill. In 1836, he sold his brick house, together with a stable within the same boundaries as that of the miller Zahn, for 1,900 Rubles to the Jew Levin Itzig and his wife Ralle. Levin Itzig had a spirit’s store here already in 1825, and in 1834 Levin Itzig's son also had a surname - Asaroff (Azarov).

In 1838 the owners were Israel and Basse Hillelsohn, who bought the property for 1,800 Rubles.

The Hillelsons had borrowed money against the mortgage many times, which they could not return to the creditors, so in 1859 all their movable and immovable property was registered and in 1861 put up for an auction. The real estate was bought for 2,700 Rubles by the owner of Padure (Padder) - Silenieki (Silleneeke) Manor, Baron Karl von der Osten-Sacken.

In 1863, instead of a stone house, there was a wooden dwelling house with 2 back yard buildings and one special purpose building without further explanation. It is interesting to note that 61 people lived in 9 rooms.

The property was bought from the baron in 1866 by Adolf Michelsohn for 2,500 Rubles, who completely demolished the house in 1871, which was confirmed in 1873 by the Court Bailiff Heinrich Notmann.

In 1874, Markus Königsfest bought the vacant plots at auction for 100 Rubles and in 1877 sold it to Carl Lawendel for 200 Rubles, from whom in 1880 it was bought for 650 Rubles by the master builder Johann Rosenthal, who had already built a house here in 1881.

When Behr Gawronski and Fritz Ratenieks bought the property in 1884, they paid 2,499 Rubles for it, but in 1888 sold it to the elementary school teacher Friedrich Sander for 5,000 rubles. It should be noted that Gawronski was a shingles roofer, but Ratenieks was a wealthy carpenter who also had a restaurant and a hotel at № 16 Kuldīgas Street. Judging by the price difference, they had significantly rebuilt Rosenthal House, possibly building the second floor shown in the photo.

It looks like teacher Sander was heavily in debt when he bought this newly built house, because in 1895 the building was put up for auction, where it was bought for 3,810 Rubles by Wulf Benjaminson.

In the 1899 Town Plan, this house is called "Почта" (Post Office). Presumably there was a Benjaminson horse post station.

In 1910, Benjaminson sold the property to Abraham and Bezalel Roloff. Bazalel (also Benzel) was a cattle merchant who bought up cattle here.

During the First World War, Kalle Roloff opened a commissioned goods shop here. After the war, there was the Moses Blumbergs kvass factory, Simon Nowosilskis' store, E. Ziediņa's dressmaker's workshop, W. Roloff's and M. Schatz's cattle trade place.

After May 15, 1934, the heirs of Bezalel Roloff left for Palestine, but Abraham (Abram) Roloff remained in Aizpute until the autumn of 1941.

In the early 1930s, there was the grain purchase of Abram Kollektor, but in the second half of the 1930s the cattle purchase and resale of Hirsch-Leibe Goldinger, Haim Joffe's materials and paints store.

Nowadays - the building is privately owned.

BACK TO START OF THE STREET