One of the architectural treasures of Riga, the House of Blackheads was just recently rebuilt in honour of the city's 800th anniversary in 2001. Dating from 1344, it was destroyed in 1941. The politically incorrect Soviets completely pulled down the ruins in 1948, because it was considered to represent 'decadent' German architecture. A striking Gothic building with a Dutch Renaissance facade, it was used to house travelling, single members of the merchants' guild. Many of its fantastic riches accompanied Baltic-Germans who repatriated to Germany in the late 1930s.