Rīgas Skolu muzejs

About the museum

The idea of setting up a museum of education in Latvia was put forward in the 1970s by the Minister of Education, Mirdza Kārkliņa, and the director of Riga’s 39th secondary school, Irēna Bitlere, but no premises could be found. In preparation for Riga’s 800th anniversary in 2001, the Latvijas Skolu muzeju asociācija (Latvian School Museums Association) invited the School History Museum of Bremen, a twin city of Riga, to exhibit part of its collection in Riga. The exhibition was set up in the children’s and youth centre “Rīgas Skolēnu pils” at 99 Krišjāņa Barona Street.

On 24 May 2001 a committee of the Riga City Council decided to found the Rīgas Skolu muzejs (Riga School Museum), and 2 January 2002 became the official start of the museum’s work. After a major renovation, the exhibition “Izglītība Rīgā XIII–XVII gs. un Domskolas klase” (Education in Riga in the 13th–17th Centuries and the Dom School Classroom) opened in 2004, and in 2005 an exhibition on education in the 18th and early 20th centuries. In 2006 a memorial to Jānis Siliņš and Jānis Grestis was unveiled.

The museum’s main task is to give an insight into school education in Riga over 800 years. Visitors can currently see the Dom School classroom and education in Riga in the 13th–17th centuries, the tsarist-era classroom and school life in the 18th to early 20th centuries, the memorial exhibition for Siliņš, Grestis and Reiziņš, and the permanent exhibition “Rīgas Skolēnu pils 75 gados” (75 Years of Rīgas Skolēnu pils). The exhibition on education in the 20th century is being renewed.

Highlights

• The Dom School classroom and education in Riga in the 13th–17th centuries
• A tsarist-era school classroom
• The memorial exhibition for Siliņš, Grestis and Reiziņš
• The permanent exhibition “Rīgas Skolēnu pils 75 gados” (75 Years of Rīgas Skolēnu pils)
• Free admission

Permanent exhibitions

• Izglītība Rīgā 13.–17. gadsimtā un Domskolas klase – Lessons in the Dom School classroom and an insight into education in Riga in the Middle Ages and modern times.
• Skolas dzīve 18.–20. gadsimta sākumā – A tsarist-era school classroom and everyday school life in the 18th century and the early 20th century.
• Rīgas Skolēnu pils 75 gados – A permanent exhibition in the museum’s ground-floor vestibule on the history of the children’s and youth centre “Rīgas Skolēnu pils”.

Founded

2002

Operated by

Rīgas valstspilsētas pašvaldība

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission to the museum is free of charge.

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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