Scenic Livu square appeared in Riga in 1950 on the site of buildings destroyed during the great Patriotic war. Designed it P. Seletsky.

Officially, the area was called the square at the Philharmonic. In 1974, it revolutionized the idea of K. Barons. Was broken by a network of paths and places for recreation. In the center of the square was located a pool with a fountain, which is currently not working. In February 2000, the Park near the Philharmonic hall was renamed the Riga authorities in Livu square.

In winter, the Livu square turns into an ice rink and in the summer in a nice cafe where you can buy different Souvenirs. Here often in the summer activities. On līvu square grow local and introduced trees and shrubs. The area turned to 0, 5 hectares.

If you walk from the Freedom monument through the City canal to Līvu square then you can see the beautiful buildings Large and Small guilds, located opposite each other on Amatu street. In 1354 German merchants, who owned the entire trade in Riga, organized a Large Guild. Its activity is abolished after the revolution of 1917. Modern look Great Guild hall found in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1965 it was reconstructed and adapted for the Latvian state Philharmonic. In the foyer of the Philharmonic, you can see the stained glass Windows, made from sketches of the Latvian artist A. Cirulis. Great Guild hall has a magnificent eclectic forms of English Gothic.

Small Guild hall built in the same style. The small Guild was founded in the XIII century and was the unification of all artisans. Only its members had the opportunity to become Guild masters. In 1936 he was eliminated.

In front of a Large Guild is a big building with two turrets, each of which are black cats. This is the famous house of the Black cat or the cat's house, which is the unofficial calling card of Riga. The building in the rational style of late art Nouveau was built in 1909 by architect Friedrich Scheffel.

There is an ancient legend that wealthy homeowner Blumer missed in the Riga Great Guild and, of course, very angry. They were ordered sculptural image black cats with curved backs. They are located on the peaked turrets apartment houses Blumer. But the interesting thing is that these cats tails were turned in the direction of the Windows operating rooms elders Large Guild, clearly showing the cynical attitude of the merchant to the Guild members.

According to one of the arms of this traditional sightseeing bikes against Blumer was organized by the judicial process. They say that it did not manage to force to deploy the cats in the right direction. Most likely, Blumer was a close friend of the judge or paid lavish bribes frequently changing judges in the verdict stated that cats are free animals, and they come and they go, and most importantly, without them Riga will lose some of its architectural wealth. It's hard to tell when they managed to agree with Mr. Blueroom, however, at one point the cats were deployed the "correct" angle.

Livu square, Large and Small guilds and cat house in Riga are a harmonious architectural ensemble, which attracts with its grandeur and beauty.