Mākslas muzejs „Rīgas Birža“

About the museum

The museum’s origins are linked to the founding of the Valsts mākslas muzejs (State Art Museum) in 1920. After the Second World War, the foreign art collections kept in the State Art Museum and the Rīgas pilsētas mākslas muzejs (Riga City Art Museum) were brought together in one institution. For more than ninety years the foreign art museum was housed in Riga Castle, but later it moved to the restored Exchange building on Doma laukums (Dom Square).

The history of the collection is even older: it is based on the collections of former Riga councillors, merchants and burgomasters, which were largely formed in the late 18th and in the 19th century. The exhibitions also include works from the Kurzeme Governorate Museum in Jelgava and from the collections of the Latvijas Universitātes muzejs (University of Latvia Museum).

The Exchange building was erected in 1852–1855 in the Venetian Renaissance palazzo style, a style that symbolised wealth and abundance. It was designed by the St Petersburg architect Haralds Jūliuss fon Bosse. The building is a state-protected architectural monument, and after restoration all of its rooms are open to visitors for the first time. In 2013 the museum received the Special Recognition of the European Museum Forum. The large exhibition hall, with its Scottish granite columns, was once the Exchange’s main trading hall; today large international exhibitions are held there.

Highlights

• European art gallery with 16th–20th-century painting, sculpture and porcelain
• Asian art gallery with Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Southeast Asian art
• Halls of ancient Egyptian, ancient Greek and Roman art
• Nikolaja Rēriha painting gallery
• The Venetian Renaissance-style Exchange building – a state-protected architectural monument

Permanent exhibitions

• Eiropas mākslas galerija – The third floor displays 16th–20th-century painting, sculpture and porcelain.
• Āzijas mākslas galerija – The second floor shows 17th–21st-century Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Southeast Asian art.
• Senās Ēģiptes zāle – On the second floor thousands of years old artefacts from ancient Egypt are on display.

Founded

1920

Admission & discounts

Free admission: The permanent exhibitions are free on the last Sunday of every month, on International Museum Day (18 May) and during Museum Night.

The reduced price applies on presentation of the relevant document. Tickets can also be bought remotely via the Mobilly app.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

All floors are accessible by lift and ramp. The museum has two entrances at street level – from Doma laukums and from Mazās Pils iela (Mazā Pils Street); a paved square has to be crossed to reach the entrance. A portable chair can be borrowed in the Large Exhibition Hall on the ground floor and on the third floor. The nearest free parking spaces for holders of a disability card (3 spaces) are at 6 Smilšu Street, about a three-minute walk away.

Kids & families

• Stroller-friendly

All floors can be reached by lift and ramp, including with a pram.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in Old Riga, where cars cannot reach it; passengers can be dropped off on Jēkaba iela (Jēkaba Street).

Amenities & dining

• Wi-Fi

Free WiFi is available throughout the museum; no password is needed.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit