Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation

The Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation, located in Riga, the center of Latvia, is one of the largest collection museums in Riga and the Baltic countries.

The museum exhibits many historical artifacts. In particular, the scientific and artistic works and personal collection of Nikolas von Himzel, who lived in the 18th century, make up a large part of the artifacts. After his death, his mother Katrina gave the works to Riga at her son’s request. In 1773, the council of Riga opened the first museum named after von Himzel in a building that no longer stands today.

Some of the artifacts in the museum, which was later moved to the Riga Dome complex, were damaged during the Second World War. In 1964, the museum was renamed the Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation and has 500,000 artifacts from 80 collections.

The most important reason for Riga’s commercial development is undoubtedly its location on the Baltic Sea. The museum exhibits very important artifacts so that you can see the ships of the past and the navigational instruments used. Old maps of Riga, various road plans and small ship models are among the historical artifacts you can see.