For three days in the middle of 1910, the city of Riga hosted an unprecedented visit by the Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II and his family. This royal visit was the only time in Nicolas’s reign that Riga was so honored. It had been over 50 years since the last time a Tsar had visited the Baltic capital. In 1856, with the visit of Tsar Alexander II, Riga still had the look of a medieval city with stone fortifications and walls. But now, in 1910, Riga was glorious. The great architect, Johan Felsko had transformed the city in the last decades of the 19th century, filling it with beautiful buildings and sculptures in the Neo-Gothic style.
As Riga entered the 1900s, a new mayor was installed, George Armistead. Armistead was mayor from 1901 until his death in 1912. He is remembered as the man who really brought Riga into the 20th century. He was responsible for the building of schools, hospitals, museums, libraries and many other buildings. He modernized and industrialized and utilized the popular Art Nouveau style (known as Jūgendstils in Latvia) to raise the city to new heights of beauty and sophistication.
Nicholas and his wife Alexandra and their five children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei, arrived at the Port of Riga aboard the luxurious Imperial yacht, Standart, on July 3rd, 1910; its solid black hull gleaming in the sun. The prow of the ship would have been an impressive sight with its shiny golden double headed eagle, the symbol of the Romanovs. The reason for the royal visit was the 200th anniversary of the City of Riga becoming part of the Russian Empire under the auspices of Peter the Great in 1710. The official festivities included the unveiling of a large bronze equestrian statue of Peter the Great himself, erected in the centre of the city (the location of the famous Freedom Monument today) and the planting of a grove of seven oak trees at the Holy Trinity-Zadvinsky Church, a tree for each member of the Tsar’s family. Six of these impressive trees have survived the decades of war and devastation of the 20th century and still stand today.
(See rare video footage of the Tsar’s visit here)
In the summer of 1910, Olga Rozentals was 15 years old. She and her family had been living in Riga for almost 10 years and this was possibly the most exciting thing to happen to the city in her lifetime. City officials went all out in cleaning and decorating the city centre for this historical visit. Flags were flying, garlands graced every surface, parade routes were set up. There was live music, stalls selling delicious food and drink, as well as vendors selling all manner of Romanov related souvenirs. The whole city would have turned out in some way to experience this important celebration. It was a much needed boost of Imperial pride in light of the past several years of violence and suppressed rebellion since the failed 1905 Communist Revolution.
Among the handful of photographs we have that belonged to Olga was a beautiful old photo of a young boy in the fancy costume of a Ukrainian Cossack. His small pudgy hand is lifted to his forehead in a salute while golden ringlets spill down from his white fur hat. This is a photo of Alexei Romanov, heir to the throne of Russia, probably taken around 1907 or 1908. Did Olga purchase this popular souvenir during the Tsar’s visit? It is quite possible. Why did she keep this photo? What was its importance? She had this photograph through evacuation during WWI. She kept it though the rebuilding of Latvia as an independent nation. She brought it with her when she fled Latvia with her son in 1940 as the Soviets were taking over the country. It remained with her during the harsh years of WWII in eastern Germany. She still didn’t let it go as she and her husband, Willi Droune, fled west in 1945 to escape the Soviets once more. And she continued to treasure it as she grew older in Bonn, Germany where she would eventually pass away in 1963. The photo was then collected, along with several others, and sent across the seas to Australia into the hands of my husband’s grandfather, Olga’s nephew and foster-son, Žanis/John Zekants. The photo survived a horrible house fire in the 1990s and is still now a treasured and priceless piece of history in the family.
I love to think of Olga and her sisters and her parents, Kristap and Anna Rozenvalds, dressing in their Sunday best and making their way across the Daugava River. Staring in awe at the Imperial yacht floating next to the docks. I can imagine Andrejs Zekants and his brothers, looking towards their future as profitable sailors or entrepreneurs, in a city playing host to one of the most important leaders in Europe. This must have been a time of immense pride and excitement. The world was at their feet. The winds of change were just around the corner, but for three days in July 1910, they were on top of the world.
Nice post!
Awesome!