Chris Thomas | Mar 22, 2018

Really enjoyed our visit here. Came with a school group and the tour guide was very knowledgeable and good with the kids. Interesting old building and looked amazing in the snow. Lovely walking through the place and even standing on the frozen lake.

Ara Salam | Mar 31, 2018

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. Quick facts: Established, Location … Latvian postage stamp issued 1994 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the museum. History In 1924, the Latvian Council of Monuments signed an order to create the open-air museum in Riga. The idea for the new museum was inspired by open-air museums in Scandinavia, particularly Skansen in 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 the different crafts of each area. 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 repressed or forced 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.

Batı Erk Yılmaz | Feb 12, 2018

Peaceful and charming reconstructed wooden village within the woods next to the ever calm Jugla lake. If you are traveling by bus, plan ahead before you exit the museum!

David Slovenski | Dec 29, 2017

Really neat museum of old buildings from around the country reassembled here. Nice trails in between. Great for a walk or hike or museum visit.

Samuel Cramphorn | Nov 21, 2017

Lovely Experience. Me and my partner spent a few hours here looking at the old homes they use to have. Very interesting place, easy to get to (just pop on a bus) and cheap entrance. Great views near the bridge.

Maren Pauli | Apr 4, 2018

Easy to get to with tram #1 from the city, just go until the last stop and then walk for about 15-20 minutes. The museum is very cheap (2€) and it's a beautiful area. You can see traditional Latvian houses from all regions of the country and even go inside (in winter there are only very few houses open, I guess more in summer). And even just for a walk through the forest, the museum is a great choice. I liked it very much!

Nicolas Gadiot | Apr 24, 2018

The park is huge, with a lot of typical houses, very well documented. I suggest you to go on a sunny day, and bring a nice picnic with you. A lot of nature too. Easy to access by bus from Riga (bus n°1, 1,15 €, tickets to buy at Narvessen shop). Entrance fees for the park is only 2 € in low-peak season but most of the houses are closed at this time of the year

Amy Stuart | Apr 6, 2018

A unique museum and would recommend visiting to understand and see the difference in how people used to live. Feel there could be more information explaining the exhibits though, a brief summary is all you get really.

Carlos A'Higgins | Apr 28, 2018

Good place for locals to take kids for a outdoors activities but not recommended for turist!!! It is 30 minutes by bus away from the city center and it is something that you can skip from you visit to Riga!!!

Rolands Rolands | Jun 5, 2018

Even if it is located some distance from the city centre, in my opinion it is one of the most interesting and beautiful museums in Riga and Latvia. It is located in a very beautiful place surrounded by pine forest and near lake. All those buildings are real buildings which are transported from all over Latvia. So they are not replica, but real, historical buildings. In my opinion museum is worth to visit. Just take into account that you can go inside of buildings mostly during summer season. You can check museum home page, but mostly it is between 1st May - 30rd September. Also it is very interesting to visit museum during some events. Like for example Latvian Folk Applied Arts FAIR which is traditionally held at the first weekend of June. All necessary information about events, how to reach it, you can find in a museum webpage.

Jarin Akther | May 9, 2018

When I visited this place it was closed for winter time. I could view the natural beauty which I admire most. I could see the sunset on the lake water. It was amazing. I hope I will visit this place again when it would be open.

Alexander Melchers | Jul 12, 2018

A wonderful place to spend some quiet relaxation time either with or without kids. Set amongst a beautiful pine-tree forest on the shores of a lake, the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum houses an amazing wealth of Latvian historical wooden architecture that not only provide insight in ancient life-ways, but form an interesting subject for study (for example for wood-working) as well... The fact that the park's custodians walk around in traditional dress and provide traditional hand-made souvenirs adds to the charm of this amazing place. As such, the museum therefore is the perfect setting for the occasional traditional arts & craft market held there. Definitely worth a visit - if not multiple!

Andrey Klinger | Jul 12, 2018

The area of the open museum is huge and mostly forested. Entry is 4e for adult. The museum contains lots of wooden houses spread over large territory. Each house has a small plaque saying when it was built and when it was transferred to the museum. Most of the houses are 200 years old. However all this is just not interesting enough: you spend a lot of energy to reach each house and gain very little knowledge by reading and the things you see are mostly the same. The only exception is the blacksmith that started to work after noon and was interesting to watch.

Konrad | Jun 17, 2018

An interesting selection of buildings located in a peaceful forest. I was surprised that there were very few people on a sunny Sunday in June. Because the area was mostly empty, walking around was even more relaxing than it would normally be. Entrance fee is only 2 EUR, so it's a bargain.