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Ethnographic Museum In Riga

Ethnographical museum

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Ethnographical museum

Ethnographic Museum In RigaEthnographical museum in Riga was founded in 1924, and since then 118 old buildings have been moved here from all over Latvia – Kurzeme, Vidzeme, Zemgale and Latgale. All of them are located in the museum so as to create an idea of ​​the historical rural landscape of Latvia. The museum presents the buildings of peasants, artisans and fishermen, as well as farm buildings – a tavern, forges, mills, churches. The interior and furnishings of buildings correspond to specific regions of Latvia and the lifestyle of people living in them.

Ethnographic open-air museum in Riga will give a thorough idea of ​​what Latvia looked like in those almost epic times when the peasant was still a universal breadwinner. The museum on the shores of Lake Jugla is an amazing place for long leisurely walks. You can take your picnic basket with you, or you can pay tribute to the Latvian cuisine in a real roadside inn under the pine trees.

The Ethnographic Museum occupies 87 hectares of well-groomed forest park. For display to the public from all four cultural and historical regions of Latvia – Kurzeme, Zemgale, Vidzeme and Latgale – 118 authentic old Latvian buildings were brought here and reassembled. Peasant farmsteads, windmills, forges, pottery furnaces and tarry shops, craftsman’s workshops, characteristic of their locality, in some of which you can observe the work of masters of primordial crafts.

Every year, at the end of the first week of June, an extensive fair is held at the Ethnographic Museum, where Latvian artisans and artists bring high-quality jewelry, textiles, woven and forged products, ceramics, etc.

Working time Ethnographical museum:

MUSEUM OPEN DAILY FROM 10.00 TO 17.00

Address Ethnographical museum:

Brivibas Street 10, Riga, LV-1024

The Basilica Of Our Lady Of Sorrows

Church of Our Lady of Sorrows

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Church of Our Lady of Sorrows

The Basilica Of Our Lady Of SorrowsThe Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Riga is the first stone sacred building in Riga, built after the start of the Reformation in Livonia. In its place stood a small chapel, consecrated in 1865. In 1875, the Austrian Emperor Joseph II passed through Riga, who, visiting this small church, was extremely surprised and indignant at the poor and unsightly appearance of the chapel. He donated an impressive amount of money to build a more representative temple.

The first stone in the foundation of the future church was consecrated in 1784, and a year later the newly built church was consecrated in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows, the service was carried out by Bishop Janis Benislavskis. The future emperor of Russia Paul I, the Polish king Stanislav Ponyatovsky and other Polish magnates donated to the construction of the church. In addition, local Catholics provided financial assistance, as far as possible. According to the instructions of Empress Catherine II, all the buildings on the castle square, including the church, were to be built in the style of classicism.

The church had three entrances, the main one was located on the side. The church itself was made in the style of classicism, but some details belonged to the baroque.

In May 1854, the Russian Emperor Nicholas I came to Riga, who, after inspecting the temple, said that the building was not spacious enough, namely too narrow. The emperor’s remarks accelerated the repair work. In 1858, a radical restoration of the building began, which lasted 2 years. The head of perestroika was the young and talented architect Johann Daniel Felsko.

The last rebuilding of the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, as a result of which the church acquired a modern appearance, took place in 1895. The architect of the project was the German master Wilhelm Boxlough. He gave the building a neo-Renaissance look and expanded it by completing the premises for the baptismal ceremony.

As a result, the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows acquired a graceful, eclectic finish, which has survived to the present day with almost no changes. The height of the church, including the steeple, is 35 meters. The main entrance is located on the side of Castle Square. The church is 48 meters long and 17 meters wide. The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows refers to church buildings of the hall type. The top of the three-story tower, which serves as the dominant, is crowned with a pyramidal spire.

Regarding the interior, it is worth noting that after repeated reorganizations, each of which brought something of its own, that there was a bizarre mixture of all architectural styles in it. Here you can see the elements of classicism, in this style the church was made initially. The first perestroika brought elements of romance and Gothic, well, later neo-Renaissance elements also appeared. The church safely endured the periods of wars and Soviet times, all this time it was active.

Līvu Square

Livu Square

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Līvu SquareThe picturesque Livu Square appeared in Riga in 1950 on the site of a building destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. Designed by P. Seletsky.

Officially, the square was called the square at the Philharmonic. In 1974, it was reconstructed on the idea of ​​K. Barons. A network of paths was laid out and recreational facilities equipped. In the center of the square there was a pool with a fountain, which is currently not working. In February 2000, the square at the Philharmonic was renamed by the Riga authorities in Livu Square.

In winter, Livu Square turns into a city skating rink, and in summer – into a wonderful cafe where you can buy various souvenirs. All kinds of events are often held here in the summer. The area has developed on 0.5 hectares.

If you go from the Freedom monument through the City Canal to Livsky Square, you can see the most beautiful buildings of the Big and Small Guilds, located opposite each other on Amatu Street. In 1354, German merchants, who owned all trade in Riga, organized the Great Guild. Her activities were liquidated after the 1917 revolution. The building of the Great Guild acquired a modern look in the middle of the 19th century. In 1965 it was reconstructed and adapted for the work of the Latvian State Philharmonic. In the lobby of the Philharmonic you can see stained-glass windows, made according to the sketches of the Latvian artist A. Tsirulis. The building of the Great Guild has majestic eclectic forms of English Gothic.

The building of the Small Guild is built in the same style. The small guild was formed in the 13th century and was an association of all artisans. Only its members had the opportunity to become guild masters. In 1936 it was eliminated.

Opposite the Great Guild there is a grandiose building with two towers, each of which has black cats. This is the famous Black Cat House or Cat House, which is an unofficial visiting card of Riga. The building in the style of late rational Art Nouveau was built in 1909 by the architect Friedrich Scheffel.

There is an ancient legend according to which the wealthy homeowner Blumer did not get into the Riga Big Guild and, of course, was very angry. He commissioned sculptural images of black cats with arched backs. They were placed on the peaked turrets of the Blumer apartment building. But the most interesting thing is that these cats were turned tails towards the windows of the working room of the elder of the Big Guild, clearly showing the cynical attitude of the merchant to the members of the guild.

According to one of the branches of this traditional excursion bike, a trial was organized against Blumer. They say that he was never able to get the cats to turn in the right direction. Most likely, Blumer was a close friend of the judge or paid generous bribes to frequently changing judges, who in the sentence stated that cats are free animals and they walk on their own, and most importantly, without them, Riga will lose some of its architectural wealth. It is difficult to say when it was possible to agree with Mr. Blumer, however, at one fine moment the cats were deployed with the “right” angle.

Livu Square, the Big and Small Guilds and the Cat House in Riga are a harmonious architectural ensemble, attracting with its grandeur and beauty.

The architectural complex of the three brothers

Three brothers

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The architectural complex of the three brothersArchitectural complex Three brothers.

Three brothers – the oldest residential complex located in Old Riga on Maza Pils Street (Malaya Zamkovaya). These three houses have been preserved since the 15th century. Today they house the Museum of Architecture and the State Center for the Protection of Cultural Monuments.

According to legend, three houses, closely clinging to each other, were really built by men of the same genus. In the Middle Ages, the street on which the houses stood was on the outskirts of the city. Artisans lived here. In the house number 17, the oldest of the “brothers”, there was a craft workshop. It is assumed that the building of the “oldest brother” was built in 1490. The house has an ascetic architecture, the only decoration of the structure are 2 stone columns located in front of the entrance. In this house there was only 1 room, which was used both as a workshop and as a shop, as well as a place where people live. Still preserved stone benches located on both sides of the door of the building, which are characteristic features of the early Middle Ages.

House number 19, which is the middle “brother”, is the most luxurious building, in terms of architecture, among the three brothers. The entrance of the middle “brother” is adorned with the inscription “Soli deo gloria!”. Unlike the eldest “brother”, this house had a separate spacious hall with large windows, while the living quarters were on the courtyard side.

The youngest “brother” was built in the second half of the 17th century. In this house, on each floor there were small apartments. The facade of the building is decorated with a mask. Which, according to the author, was supposed to serve as a defense of the house from evil spirits.

Between 1955 and 1957 restoration of the “three brothers” was carried out. The work was carried out according to the project of Peteris Saulitis, with the help of G. Janson. A stone portal, taken from the lost House of the Blackheads, as well as a forged coat of arms, dated 1554, was walled into the walls.

Art Nouveau in Riga

Art Nouveau

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Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau in RigaArt Nouveau began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Art Nouveau or Modern is the German name for the Art Nouveau style.

Speaking about Riga, locals usually use the term “art nouveau” rather than “modern”. Modern is one of the branches of the Art Nouveau style, its German variety. Translated from German, Jugendstil means “young style.” It got its name from the popular German magazine “Jugend” (“Youth”), which began to be published in Germany in 1896.

From 1902 to 1914, all Riga architects used the techniques of modernity and, of course, its decorative forms in their work. It is almost impossible to find a building in the Riga buildings of this time, in which the style of modernity has not manifested itself in one way or another. This applies even to buildings that are created in the spirit of other concepts.

Modern is characterized by simple geometric lines and shapes. Architects sought to make the facade elements as decorative as possible: stylized ornaments, garlands of flowers, sculptures of various animals, statues of women, winding bindings of balconies and staircases, faces. The facade of buildings in the style of Art Nouveau could even judge the owner and history of the house.

One of the most prominent architect in Riga was Mikhail Eisenstein, who worked in the Baltic State Property Management, and was engaged in private architecture. According to the son of Sergei, the famous filmmaker, Mikhail Eisenstein built about 53 houses in the Modern style.

The architecture of Riga.

Sights of Latvia

 

Riga Motor Museum

Riga Motor Museum

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Riga Motor MuseumRiga Motor Museum

Riga Motor Museum is the largest museum of rare auto and mechanical transport in the Baltic countries, which was founded in 1989.

On April 22, 1989, the opening ceremony of the Riga Motor Museum was held. The opening date was symbolic: a clean-up day on Lenin’s birthday, on the day on which the legendary Auto Union was rescued from the ZIL plant in Moscow in 1976. With the opening of the museum, at that time (and today) the largest antique car museum in the Baltic States was added to the number of significant cultural and educational institutions of Latvia. In 1989, 75,000 people visited the new museum, a year later the number grew to 130,000.

The purpose of the museum is to collect, exhibit and explore rare cars and mechanical vehicles, to study the history of their appearance, use and development, including to show the development of the history of the automotive industry in Latvia.

Cars, mopeds and bicycles made in Latvia.

The Riga Motor Museum is an opportunity to see such examples of the Latvian automotive industry as the Russo-Balt fire truck, Ford cars Vairogs V8 and Junior-10 models created by the Riga carriage factory, as well as the products of the Riga Bus Factory (RAF) – well-known minibuses and passenger bus RAF – 976.

Kremlin automobile collection

In the Kremlin collection, the museum’s motor can be seen at the top-class limousines of the leaders of the USSR, luxury imported cars of the 30s of the last century, as well as L.I. Brezhnev.

Pre-war cars and motorcycles

The museum displays both Ford-T (1919) and the Chevrolet-Superior mod, popular around the world. “F” (1924), as well as less well-known car models, such as the 12/50 Tourer, released in Germany in 1924. In the exhibition you can see German cars produced in the second half of the 30s of the last century. For example, the BMW-328 sports roadster, the small mass car Mercedes-Benz 170V, as well as the exclusive Horch-853.

Special and military equipment

The exposition hall of the ground floor presents military equipment that was fought on the Eastern Front. The collection includes military motorcycles and automobiles from Germany and the Soviet Union, as well as a Studebaker US 6 truck, Willys MB light SUV, Harley-Davidson WLA 42 and Indian 741 B motorcycles received in 1942 from the US Lend-Lease

Racing cars

In the permanent exhibition of the Riga Motor Museum there is an opportunity to look at a unique collection of racing and record cars. Auto – Union Typ C / D car (Germany 1938) designed for mountain competitions, one of the most unique exhibits in this collection and the entire museum.

Cars and motorcycles of the Soviet era

The Riga Motor Museum was given possession of many well-preserved Soviet cars, which occupy an important place in the museum’s exposition, starting from the first Moskvich and ending with various Lada models. The museum’s collection quite fully shows cars that used to drive along the roads of the USSR.

Riga Motor Museum for children. Road safety

The main goal of the Road Safety classes is to introduce children to the basics of traffic safety rules, as well as prepare them to take a theoretical right test for cyclists. The Riga Motor Museum offers the opportunity to take the CSDD exam both for groups and individually.

Science and technology

In classes on science and technology, children and adolescents will be able to try various experiments related not only to the history of the automotive industry, but also various everyday things that they probably never thought about.

Automotive History Tour

Riga Motor Museum offers a special tour of the history and development of the automotive industry for children and young enthusiasts. A guided tour takes about 40-60 minutes.

Museum activities for children

Riga Motor Museum offers an interactive tour for children in accordance with their age, as well as congratulations to the hero of the day. You can continue the celebration after a tour of the museum in a cafe or teacher’s class.

Also offers festive events in the sports complex “Bikernieki” on the motorway, at ul. Eisenstein 4.

To make an appointment on the day of the celebration, please call +371 67025888 in advance. For reservation of a cafe or a holiday table, please contact the cafe’s administration +371 25367109, e-pasts: info@mmcafe.lv.

Interactivity – what should children do in a museum?

A visit to the Riga Motor Museum is an exciting adventure for the whole day. In the museum for children, interactive workstations, recreation areas with various games, a playground where young car enthusiasts can feel like driving a car are available.

Car track

On the basis of the Bikernieki sports complex, there is a section on auto-modeling, in which children and adolescents are offered the opportunity to construct cars themselves, which can then take part in competitions. In the section there is an opportunity to get initial knowledge about technology, electronics and metalworking.

Led the exam.

Along with the car, the bicycle is also a full-fledged participant in the traffic, for which you must have a driver’s license. Riga Motor Museum offers the opportunity to take the CSDD exam both for groups and individually.

Information for visiting Riga Motor Museum

Riga Motor Museum is waiting for you every day from 10:00 to 18:00. A visit to the exposition can take you about 2 hours, so we recommend you to arrive in advance, until 16:30.

Holiday Hours:

The museum is closed 24., 25., 26., 31. December and 1 January

The Bremen town musicians

The Bremen Town Musicians

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The Bremen Town Musicians

The Bremen town musiciansThe Bremen Town Musicians is a Monument – to the heroes of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm – standing in the very center of old Riga. As you know, the heroes of the tale – a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster – go to Bremen to become musicians, but along the way they encounter robbers who are frightened by their singing, standing on top of each other. The robbers run away in fear, and the musicians remain to live in their house.

The first monument to Bremen Town Musicians was created by German sculptor Gerhard Marx in 1951 for the city of Bremen. The bronze sculpture represents the main characters of the tale, standing on top of each other and singing a song. The monument has become a symbol of the city.

Based on the sculpture, the sculptor Krist Baumgartel created a similar, but original monument in 1990. Bremen, twin of Riga, presented this monument to the capital of Latvia. The twin cities of Bremen and Riga are rightfully bishop Albert Buxheveden, the founder of Riga was a relative of the Bremen Archbishop. It is also believed that the German merchants who first landed at the mouth of the Daugava in the 11th century were from Bremen (although no documentary evidence was found for the legend).

The monument became one of the sightseeing sites of Riga. And not only children are eager to take pictures with memory of Bremen musicians. Today the donkey’s nose – and the donkey stands at the very bottom of the composition, has become noticeably lighter, because touching it is considered a good omen. There is an opportunity to realize three more desires, to rub the noses of other animals. The most secret desire is fulfilled by a rooster, which is most difficult to reach.

Cat's House

Cat House

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Cat House

Cat's HouseCat House This building is located in the central part of the Old Town of Riga, built in 1909 by the architect Friedrich Scheffel in the style of late rational Art Nouveau.

Both cats on the building called “Cat House” are extremely symmetrical, they adorn the turrets above the intersections of Meistaru and Maza Smilsu (Malaya Peschanaya) and Meistaru – Zirgu (Horse) streets. The central facade of the building is distinguished by its symmetrical composition; in the middle of it is a sculptural symbolic image of an eagle with spread wings, ready to soar into the sky – this image is also made in accordance with the principle of a central point of symmetry; it is a symbolic indication of an eternal struggle until a victorious end is reached. The eagle is able to look at the sun without blinking, which was one of the reasons for recognizing this bird as a key solar symbol – this functional content contributed to the official inclusion of the eagle in the concept of modern symbolism.

There is an old legend that has not been verified by anyone, according to which the wealthy homeowner Blumer (Plume), unhappy that he was not allowed to become a member of the Riga Big Guild, the representative body of the Riga merchants, undertook an act of psychological retaliation. He ordered sculptural images of black cats with arched backs and placed them on the pointed pedestals of his apartment building, located on the opposite side of Meistaru Street (at the modern address Meistaru Street 10/12). However, these cats, to top off the picture, were turned with their tails towards the windows of the office of the elder of the Big Guild, so the non-diplomatic aspect was precisely in the most vulnerable spot.

According to one of the traditional excursion tales, a lawsuit was launched against Blumer, but legal measures failed to get Blumer to deploy the cats. Blumer was a good friend of a judge, or he paid generous bribes to frequently changing judges, who in a sentence with all responsibility declared that these cats walk on their own, they are free animals and without them Riga will lose some of its architectural wealth. It is difficult to say when the world was concluded with an obstinate and unyielding gentleman by the name of Blumer (Plume), but in the end, sooner or later, the cats were deployed with the “right” angle.

Домский собор

Riga Dome Cathedral

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Riga Dome Cathedral

Домский соборRiga Dome Cathedral is a symbol and one of the main attractions of the city of Riga. Dome Cathedral is the largest medieval church in the Baltic countries. First of all, the Dome Cathedral is identified with religion and faith. The Dome Cathedral, not just a building – this architectural project is listed in the World Heritage Register, for more than a hundred years now it has been glorifying the name of its architect E.F. Walker. The name of the cathedral comes from Latin expressions – “Domus Dei” (“House of God”). Currently – the main church building of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia. Along with St. Peter’s Church and St. Ecob’s Cathedral, it is the high-rise dominant of Old Riga and the forming urban element of the old city (in particular, the key building of Dome Square).

Its builder was Bishop of Riga Albert, founder of the Order of the “Brothers of Christ of Chivalry”, better known by the name of the Swordsmen. With their help, he conquered the Liv tribes and settled in Livonia. In 1210, a fishing village near the episcopal compound burned down, and Albert took the opportunity to seize this piece of land. In 1211, the first stone was laid in the foundation of the cathedral and the land allotted for construction was consecrated. The temple spent huge funds collected in the form of taxes from the conquered Baltic lands. Episcopal Cathedral was to surpass the church of St. Petra, which then began to build artisans and merchants of Riga. Albert invited architects from Germany and set before them the task of building a temple in a new, flourishing Gothic style. The grand vaults supported by columns, stained glass windows, the abundance of sculpture, the plan in the form of a cross – all these features of Gothic architecture were completely not characteristic of local architecture, therefore the magnificent building of the cathedral towered above the city as a symbol of the triumph of the Catholic Church.

A monastery was built near the Dome Cathedral for the Dome Chapter. At the end of the 16th century, an organ was installed in the cathedral. The cathedral acquired its final form only in the 18th century, after several reconstructions. For example, the shape of the tower, which was struck by lightning four times, during restoration each time changed depending on the tastes of the era. The organ hall in the Dome Cathedral, one of the most popular places for tourists. The body, which has incredible acoustic power, has four sets of hand keys. It was reconstructed three times. The works for the great organ were written by many prominent composers and gave their concerts right in the cathedral. At the time of its construction in the world there was no body that would exceed this in size.

Over the years, the cultural layer around the cathedral has grown significantly, since the cathedral has stood indestructibly all these years, and around it the settlements have disappeared and again new settlements have appeared. Now, in order to get inside the church you need to go down the stairs, and before you had to go up, but time does not stand still. The Dome Church itself was restored in 1959 – 1962, the interior was recreated in it exactly as it was more than four hundred years ago, and the organ still sounds under its arches. Today in the monastery buildings is the Museum of the History of Riga and the Museum of Navigation.

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