Bastion hill
This hill was created from 1857 to 1859 to replace the old defensive sand bulwark. Within its precincts are memorial stones to five people killed by Soviet bullets during the January 1991 disturbances. Among the dead were camera operators documenting the stormy events. Despite the popular coverage of the Gulf War at the time, their footage was shown all over the globe, much to the chagrin of the Soviets.
St. Peter’s
First mentioned in ancient chronicles in 1209, St. Peter's was a Catholic church until 1523, when it turned Lutheran. Its wooden tower, the highest in Europe at that time, was destroyed several times. It first collapsed in 1666 and was rebuilt a year later. To see how long it would last, the builders hurled a glass from the top: the more pieces the vessel broke into, the greater the tower's longevity. Alas, a pile of straw cushioned the glass' fall and the spire burnt down one year later. Artillery fire destroyed the structure again in 1941. In 1973 it was finally rebuilt and the glass ritual was repeated, this time with smashing results.
Cat House
The Cat House is named for two black felines perched on the points of its towers. Not only did the beasts curse their first sculptor, he fatally fell while putting them up, but their purpose was to cause trouble. Roughly 100 years ago, the Latvian owner of the building was excluded from the powerful Big Guild across the road by its ethnocentric German occupants. He ordered the cats to be turned around, backside up, as an insult to his enemies. They were turned around after a lengthy court battle and he was eventually admitted to the Guild.
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