Civic Building Activities in Riga and Munich: Parallels in Urban Development and Stylistic History

Two distant towns, two founding initiators and, at least for parts of the historic development, strictly separated political systems do not actually suggest a range of similarities. Yet, in closer examination during an academic student research project on major public buildings in Riga and Munich, several remarkable references occurred: some triggered by outstanding individuals, some due to pan-European architectural flow. By comparing the key stages of urban development, mainly on the analysis of historical plans and vedutas and by detecting stylistic links in the cities’ public buildings, striking parallels became visible, as well as significant differences in detail.