The seminar participants will be welcomed in a special building that is not only home to history but was also created by it: the Benjamiņš House.
The elegant house on Barona Street, then called the Pfaff House, was built in 1876 during the golden age of Riga's construction. It belonged to the merchant family Pfaff. It was designed by architects Hermanis Ende, Vilhelms Bekmanis, and later Eižens Laube, who also worked on the renovation of Riga Castle and several Art Nouveau buildings in Riga.
One of Riga's streets, 1.045 km long, is named after Emīlija Benjamiņa (10.09.1881-23.09.1941), a reminder of the publishing culture at the beginning of the 20th century and during the interwar period. The visually rich magazine “Atpūta” (Atphuta, en: Rest), which became one of the most popular newspapers during the interwar period, is associated with the names of Emīlija and Antons Benjamiņš. She also published children's books. For her public work, Emīlija Benjamiņa received several foreign and Latvian awards, including the Order of the Three Stars of the IV and III class (1932, 1937) and the 1st class gold medal of the Swedish Order of Vasa (1935). Emīlija Benjamiņa's life is also represented in the Latvian multi-series feature film “Emīlija. The Queen of the Latvian Press” (2021), which traces her life from 1924 to 1941 in the series "Atpūta" (Rest), "Mantinieks" (Heir), "Pils" (Castle), "Tiesa" (Court), "Apvērsums" (Coup), "Nodevība" (Betrayal), and "Likteņi" (Fates).