August Reinberg (; 16 March 1860 – 17 July 1908) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

architect from Riga. August Reinberg was born in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, in the

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...

as the son of Jakob Reinberg and Luise, née Kastan. In 1877, he graduated from Riga City Gymnasium and went on to study architecture at the Riga Polytechnic Institute (now

Riga Technical University Riga Technical University (RTU) () is the oldest technical university in the Baltic countries established on October 14, 1862. It is located in Riga, Latvia and was previously known as Riga Polytechnical Institute and Riga Polytechnicum. In 1 ...

) from 1877 to 1882. Between 1881 and 1883, Reinberg worked as an assistant to architect

Robert Pflug Robert Pflug (; 1 May 1832 – 30 November 1885) was a Baltic German architect. Robert August Pflug was born in Saint Petersburg as the son of a merchant. He studied at the Technological Institute in Saint Petersburg between 1846 and 1850 and t ...

and contributed to the construction of the Riga Orthodox Cathedral, especially its interior design. In 1883, he earned the title of graduate artist of the third category from the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov, the founder of the Imperial Moscow University, under the name ''Academy of th ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, later upgraded to second category in 1894. From 1884 to 1885, he traveled on a study tour through Austria, Italy, France, and Germany to deepen his architectural knowledge. In 1885–1886, he worked as a teacher at the Riga Polytechnic Institute, continuing his studies under Professor Johann Koch, the dean of the Faculty of Architecture. During the real estate crisis of the 1880s, Reinberg worked for two years on construction projects for the Riga–Pskov railway. From 1888 to 1889, he was again an assistant at Riga Polytechnic Institute and also taught drawing at the city’s

Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...

. Around this period, he began researching the history of Riga’s architecture. In 1889, he co-founded the Riga Architects' Society and became its first chairman. From 1890 to 1899, he lived and worked in Saint Petersburg, where he was awarded the honorary title of "artist, 2nd grade" by the Imperial Academy of Arts. He actively participated in local and international architectural congresses in cities such as Stockholm, Munich, and London. After winning the design competition for Riga’s Second City Theater (now the Latvian National Theatre, originally the Russian Theater), Reinberg returned to Riga to oversee the construction and once again served as chairman of the Architects' Union of Riga. In 1905, he was appointed adjunct professor at Riga Polytechnic Institute and was also elected to the

Riga City Council Riga City Council () is the government of the city of Riga, the capital of Latvia. Its meeting place is in the Riga Town Hall (''Rīgas rātsnams)'' at the Town Hall Square (''Rātslaukums'') in the very heart of Riga. The Riga City Council con ...

. He continued to live and work in Riga for the rest of his life. He designed several apartment buildings in Riga, as well as more prestigious commissions, such as banks in both Riga and

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, a mental hospital in

Strenči Strenči (pronounced ; ) is a town in Valmiera Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It is located about northeast of Riga, about northeast of Valmiera and about southwest of Valka. Strenči is known as the raftsmen capital of Latvia ...

and the present-day

Latvian National Theatre The Latvian National Theatre () is one of the leading professional theatres in Latvia. The building is in the eclectic style and is an architectural and artistic monument. The country of Latvia was proclaimed in this building in the year 1918. O ...

Projects

In 1899, Augusts Reinbergs won the competition for the design of the Latvian National Theatre building (at that time, the Riga City Second Theatre). Several buildings were constructed based on his designs, including the

Strenči Psychoneurological Hospital Strenči psychoneurological hospital is a state-owned psychiatric hospital located in Strenči, Latvia. The hospital specializes in providing mental health care, including the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of patients with various psyc ...

, the Latvian National Theatre, and the

Bank of Latvia The Bank of Latvia (,) is the national central bank for Latvia within the Eurosystem. It was the Latvian central bank from 1922 to 2013, albeit with a long suspension between 1940 and 1992. It issued the Latvian lats (1922-1940), then a Latvian r ...

buildings. File:RigaSkolasIela3.jpg, Skolas Street 3 in Riga, Reinberg House (1905) File:Nacionālais teātris.jpg, Riga City Theatre No. 2 (1902) File:Watertower in Strenci Mental Hospital - panoramio.jpg,

building (1907) File:Bank of Latvia 01.jpg,

building (1901-1905) File:Estonia-puiestee-11-3133.jpg, Bank building in Tallinn, Estonia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reinberg, August Architects from Riga Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire 1860 births 1908 deaths Riga Technical University alumni Architects from the Russian Empire