A Suburban Estate Before Imanta Existed
When Anniņmuiža first appears in written sources in the 17th century, this was still the landscape of Swedish Vidzeme: scattered farms, manor plots, and the western road out of Riga. On period maps the estate is listed under German forms such as Meiershof or Meinertshof, showing that it belonged to the same circle of suburban properties that ringed Riga and were used seasonally by officials and landowners. In 1768 Gothard von Fegesack leased the property to the influential court councillor Otto Hermann von Vietinghoff; after he married Anna Ulrike von Münnich, the estate gradually took on her name, Annenhof – in Latvian, Anniņmuiža. The new name stuck, unlike many other manorial toponyms in Pārdaugava that later disappeared from everyday speech. What distinguished Anniņmuiža from purely agricultural farms was its role as a lustmāja – a place for receptions, theatricals and summer parties rather than grain and cattle. That social function explains why the building and the park received more attention than the fields around it.

From Private Residence to Town-Fringe Villa
In the 19th century ownership changed several times, reflecting Riga’s economic rise and the increasing value of suburban land. By the 1870s the estate belonged to Eduards Jensens, and the current masonry house was erected after 1865 (quite possibly after 1875), replacing earlier wooden structures that were no longer suitable for year-round living. The 1905 unrest reached the manor – it was damaged, like many estates around Riga – but it was restored and remained in private hands. After Latvia’s agrarian reform, the core part of the manor stayed with the Jensens, who in the 1920s even negotiated with Riga City Council about selling it, unwilling to invest in yet another renovation. This was a turning point: the estate was no longer a country villa outside Riga but a piece of real estate slowly being encircled by transport lines and small residential plots. Its survival through this period is mostly due to continuous occupation and to the fact that the main house could be adapted to new functions.

A Manor in the Shadow of Panel Blocks
Soviet-era planning transformed the area far more radically than any 19th-century subdivision. Imanta and Zolitūde were chosen for large-scale residential construction, and the old manor suddenly found itself in the middle of an emerging microrayon. The building was taken over by municipal and later republican institutions; at one point it was used by the Rīga 2nd boarding school, with the terrace toward the park bricked up for safety and practicality. After the restoration of independence it went to the University of Latvia and for many years housed the Pedagogy Museum, which, despite modest resources, kept the manor in use and visible to the public. This functional continuity is important: unlike some rural manors, Anniņmuiža was never completely abandoned, so the core volume, window rhythm and relationship with the park survived, even if the plaster, roof and terrace no longer matched the 18th-century ideal.

Park, Name and Neighbourhood Identity
What gives Anniņmuiža its current meaning is not only the house but also the green belt around it – today’s Anniņmuiža Park. For residents of Imanta this is one of the few historic layers that predates the apartment blocks and anchors the district in Riga’s longer story. The park still follows the old manor layout with open lawns and tree groupings rather than a strictly geometric French design, which matches descriptions of 18th-century pleasure estates in Pārdaugava. Local associations use the name “Riga Annenhof” and organize cultural events, guided walks and heritage discussions, arguing that the building should become a publicly accessible culture place, not just another anonymous office or fenced-off plot. Their activism is a practical response to the situation: the house is small, restoration will cost money, so the best way to protect it is to keep it in use and in view. That approach mirrors successful community projects in other Riga suburbs.

The Long Auction and the Next Chapter
Since 2020 the University of Latvia has repeatedly tried to sell the broader 7.6-hectare site at 76 Jūrmalas gatve, which includes the historic manor, park and several later academic buildings. The first auction started at about 4.6 million euros and received no bids; later attempts lowered the price to around 3.6 million euros, but even the 2025 auction closed without a buyer. The university has now split the property, offering the newer buildings separately while looking for a solution for the historic part, and has publicly stated that both a sale and a partnership model are on the table. This shows that Anniņmuiža is not a forgotten ruin but a live asset whose future depends on finding an owner willing to combine heritage care with reasonable development in a growing district. Whoever takes it on will inherit not just a house, but three centuries of Pārdaugava’s urban memory.