Latvian Ethnographic Open Air Museum

Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum

Latvijas Etnogrāfiskais brīvdabas muzejs
File:Latvias folkemuseum kirkeinteriør.JPG Interior of the Usma Lutheran Church
Established	1924
Location	Berģi, Riga, Latvia
Type	Open-air living museum
Visitors	135,000 visitors each year
Director	Ilze Millersone
Public transit access	City bus No.1
Website	www.brivdabasmuzejs.lv/en/

File:19940430 5sant Latvia Postage Stamp.jpg

Latvian postage stamp issued 1994 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the museum.

Latvian Ethnographic Open Air Museum (Latvian: Latvijas Etnogrāfiskais brīvdabas muzejs) is an open-air museum located just outside Riga, the capital of Latvia, on the lightly wooded shores of Juglas Lake.

History

The new museum acquired land from a state land fund in the sandy dunes near Juglas Lake, just outside the city. In 1928, the first building, a barn from Vestiena parish was relocated and rebuilt in the museum. In 1932, the museum was opened to the public with six buildings (Vidzeme homestead). In 1939, there were already 40 buildings erected in the museum. Every region had its homestead and several other buildings of architectural or cultural value represented here. In the 1930s the museum became a very popular place and the community actively participated in the development of the museum. Several buildings were relocated and rebuilt, funded by private donations.

During the Second World War (World War II), the museum remained mostly undamaged, but most of its pre-war personnel were unavailable after having been sent into exile. Many documents were also lost during this period. After the war, the new Soviet power didn't understand the nature of the museum and even declared it ideologically incorrect. Only in the late 1960s did the museum see a renaissance, when a new generation of museum specialists started to work in the museum. As communication with other countries was improved, the territory of the museum was expanded and many new and high-value objects were placed into the museum.

When Latvia regained its independence in 1990, the museum started actively collecting and documenting Latvian heritage from the 1920s and 1930s, a period during which Latvian agrarian reforms reshaped the Latvian countryside. As a result, a new complex of farmers' homesteads from the 1930s was opened in 1997.

Today

Today, the museum organizes many cultural events, such as folk concerts and traditional and craft festivals. The museum promotes traditional Latvian culture and lifestyle with these cultural events. The annual traditional craft fair has been organized by the museum since 1971. The annual crafts fair become the museum's most famous annual event, attended by tens of thousands of people every year.

The museum currently occupies 87 hectares and displays 118 buildings, as well as more than 3,000 items. Most of Latvia's historical ethnic groups are represented in the museum. The museum's collection holds approximately 150,000 artifacts.

Gallery

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  A fisherman's house (Lurķi) from the Rucava parish, Courland

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  Home of a Russian peasant from Latgale

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  Russian Orthodox church from the Rogovka village, Latgale

• Bergi Ethnografisches Museum Bergi Latgale 23.JPG

  Roman Catholic chapel from Latgale

• Bergi Ethnografisches Museum Bergi Vidzeme 12.JPG

  View of the buildings of Vidzeme homestead

• Bergi Ethnografisches Museum Bergi Vidzeme 44.JPG

  New Farmers dwelling house from the 1930s. Jaungulbene parish, Vidzeme

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  Windmill from the Rundēni parish, Latgale

• Bergi Ethnografisches Museum Bergi Zemgale 01.JPG

  Tavern from the Vecumnieki parish, Zemgale

• Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum - bathouse (banya).JPG

  Bathhouse from the Gaujiena parish, Vidzeme

External links

• Official site
• Mobile App for iPhone
• Mobile App for Android
• Virtual Tour of the Annual Crafts Fair at the Ethnographic Open Air Museum
• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons