Hotels near Three Brothers

The Three Brothers (Tris brali) at Maza Pils iela 17, 19 and 21 form the oldest surviving residential complex in Riga and one of the oldest in the Baltics. Number 17 (the White Brother) dates to the late 15th century and is the oldest stone dwelling house in the city - a late Gothic merchant's house with a stepped gable and small rectangular windows. Number 19 (the Middle Brother) dates to 1646, a Dutch Mannerist facade with sandstone masks and portals. Number 21 (the Green Brother) is a narrow 17th-century tenement built to squeeze into a taxed plot.

Number 19 today houses the Latvian Museum of Architecture with free entry Monday to Friday - a small collection covering the reconstruction of Riga's medieval quarter after the Second World War. The three facades together are a five-minute stop but essential context for how a wealthy Hanseatic merchant house looked before the Baroque and Art Nouveau overlays that dominate the rest of the city. The street setting on the quiet cobbled Maza Pils is the point.

Pro Tip: Combine the Three Brothers with a short walk to St Jacob's Cathedral and the Swedish Gate on Torna iela - the whole northern Vecriga loop takes 45 minutes and hits the quietest medieval streets in Riga.