The Carriage House

Publicist Jānis Gabrāns writes in his forthcoming book about the houses of Cēsis, “Look into the Future of the Past”: In the heart of Cēsis Old Town, in the “Konrāds Quarter,” between quiet cobblestones and the time-worn walls of the medieval castle, stood the Carriage House — a place known to every traveler heading to this town or passing through it.

The building was not large, yet its doors were always open, for it was home to a craftsman named Krišs, who could repair any carriage. It was also a place where travelers’ stories and wisdom converged. Carriages brought people from distant lands, and while Krišs mended broken parts, travelers told him their tales — of the Curonians and the Semigallians, of the roads along the Lithuanian border, of the sea whose far shore cannot be seen, of faraway lands where winter never comes, of unseen animals, and more, and more.

Local people said that a “spirit of the road” dwelled in the Carriage House — a special force that protected from misfortune those who set out on their journey with a pure heart. It was a place where carriages were not only repaired but also blessed, so that the road ahead would be safe and fortunate.

Yet no matter how great this power was, it could not withstand another, even greater force — time, which subdues all. Krišs was called away to the gardens of heaven, and the Carriage House itself endured wars, fires, and oblivion. Only a few boards remained, gnawed by the teeth of time but still strong. And legend has it that if one of the old boards of the Carriage House is built into a home, it brings blessing and safe travels to the entire household.

And so today, walking through the Konrāds Quarter, among modern buildings and ancient foundations, one might still sense a faint aroma of smoke and hear the creak of a carriage wheel — there, Krišs is repairing carriages and listening to stories, passing them on to those who will stay at the design hotel “The Carriage House.”