Museums in Riga

The Occupation Museum of Latvia 1940-1991

houses an extensive collection of papers, photographs and manuscripts from the period of the Nazi and Soviet occupations of Latvia. Visitors can even walk into a reconstructed gulag barracks and catch a glimpse to the intolerable living conditions in Siberian labor camps.

The Ethnographic Open Air Museum

is a place where you can see "Latvian life as it used to be lived. Set on 100 hectares of open wooded area, you can indeed visit 121 traditional objects among them a number of craftsmen's workshops.

The History Museum of Latvia

displays the evolution of Latvia and its people from the Neolithic to the 19th century.

The Museum of Riga’s History and Navigation

is the oldest museum of Latvia, it was founded in 1773. This museum displays a collection of half a million items which give a fascinating insight into the development of Riga over the centuries.

The Krisjanis Barons Memorial Museum

deals with Krisjanis Barons which regarded as the father of Dainas, these Latvian folk songs. Barons made a collection of over 217,000 Dainas which have been published in six volumes.

The Mentzendorff’s House

is a historical house which belonged to a wealthy Riga merchant. It's worth seeing it for the 18th century frescoes and the true medieval atmosphere.

Latvian Railway History Museum

Contains documents and photographs in the museum collection. Communications and signaling equipment, tools and instruments of railroad repairmen, uniforms and distinguishing badges, station interior objects, tickets and delivery notes.

Riga Motor Museum

Classic limousines, cars from the garages of the Kremlin and an array of sports motorcycles.

Latvian Museum of Photography

Contains photographs, from those produced by historic processes of the 19th century (such as daguerrotypes), to current times.