The first Saint-Rémy church, of which only the tower remains today, was built in the 13th century. It was built at the foot of the hill on which stands the castle. The church gradually fell to ruins and the new Saint Rémy church was built in the heart of the town. It was Thomas Bouchard, deputy mayor and treasurer of the parish who laid the first stone in 1522. The gothic centre, surrounded by an ambulatory and radiating chapels, was completed in 1545, but the influence of the first French Renaissance was already visible in the décor.
References:House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.