Visitors have already become fond of the object, as it is both informative, revealing historical facts about Latvia and Jelgava, and interactive, allowing them to immortalise themselves in “mirror” selfies.

The object is located next to Jelgava’s Old Castle Street quarter, where several pre-war buildings have been preserved.

The environmental object features 10 stylised images of people arranged in a circle, symbolising the many people who have been involved in the creation and development of the Latvian state. Each of them supports 10 stones. In total, 100 stones are held, symbolising the years of Latvia’s existence. The most important events of each decade in the context of Jelgava are engraved on the images of the people, and on the other side of the images everyone can see their own reflection, thus emphasising that the country is made by each one of us.

As darkness falls, the object lights up in the colours of the Jelgava flag (blue and red) and the sun.

Photos from the Jelgava TIC archive.