2. The Town Musicians of Bremen  

Is a story from the Brothers Grimm in which four animals – a donkey, dog, cat, and rooster – look through the window of a cottage and ultimately save it from robbers. Here in Riga, the clever animals are peering through the “Iron Curtain.” The sculpture, located next to St Peter’s Church, was made in 1990 when Latvia was on the verge of breaking free of the Soviet Union.

Three legendary musicians play their music on Skārņu Street, between St.Peter’s Church and the Convent yard: a donkey, a dog, a cat and a cockerel standing on each other’s backs.

 The political monument was created by Bremen artist Krista Baumgaertel. The sculpture is based on a fairy tail by the Brothers Grimm, but created with a political subtext as it was inspired By Mikhail Gorbachev.

The sculpture is a gift from Riga’s sister city Bremen, was made in 1990.I’s a humorous approach towards previous political strereotypes. The bronze figures are not staring through the window at the robber’s feast at a table full drinks and food; they are peering through the Iron Curtain on completely new world where they had thought to find a bone or a piece of meat

Quest:

Leave the church, turn right, go around the church up to the statue of the famous Musicians of the Town of Bremen from the German fairy-tale.

Explore:

when Riga got them as a present from its twin-town of Bremen