text: Rāmavas muiža (Ramava mansion) was a home of Garlieb Merkel, a famous German writer and ethnographer, who was one of the first members of intellectual community to accept and use the term "Latvians". Of course, this is the name all Latvian nationals bear today, but back then, they were not widely recognised as a nation. He also wrote a lot about Latvian culture, customs and language, planting the seeds of the national awakening less then twenty years after his death at the age of 78. Speaking of his death, this is the place he lived until his final day. 
  
  Now, the mansion is used for weddings and celebratory events, as it is renovated, but keeps the atmosphere and aesthetic of the 19th century. Interestingly enough, it is surrounded by a typical suburban neighbourhood and its inhabitants are not happy whenever such events occur there.