Latvian Ethnographic Open Air Museum

Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum
Latvijas Etnogrāfiskais brīvdabas muzejs

Interior of the Usma Lutheran Church[1]
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/
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 situated near a forested area beside Juglas Lake. Juglas Lake is just outside Riga,[2] the capital of Latvia.

History

In 1924, the Latvian Council of Monuments signed an order to establish the open-air museum in Riga. The idea of a new museum was inspired by open-air museums in Scandinavia, particularly Skansen and Stockholm. The plan was to relocate a homestead from all four regions of Latvia – Courland, Zemgale, Vidzeme and Latgale – to the museum. Each of the buildings would represent different crafts of each area.

The new museum acquired land from a state land fund in the sandy dunes near Lake Jugla, just outside the city. In 1928, the first building-trashing 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 inside 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, 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 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

References

  1. ↑ "KULDĪGAS AKTĪVĀS ATPŪTAS CENTRS - Usma Lutheran Church". Visit.kuldiga.lv. 2015-06-02. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
  2. ↑ "Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum". Latvia Travel. Retrieved 2016-03-26.

External links

Coordinates: 56°59′41″N 24°16′12″E / 56.99472°N 24.27000°E / 56.99472; 24.27000

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