Ethnographic Open Air Museum
Author: Anothertravelguide.com0 COMMENTS
An afternoon excursion to the Ethnographic Open Air Museum (Etnogrāfiskais brīvdabas muzejs) is a delightful form of time travel. Whether you bring along a picnic basket or avail yourself of authentic Latvian dishes at the Pine Inn (Priedes krogs), a walk along the shores of Lake Jugla is a stroll into an era when all food was local and motor traffic did not yet exist.
Founded in 1924 on 87 hectares of land, the museum now holds 118 buildings, including farmsteads, windmills, smithies and potters' kilns. The charming, wooden, Lutheran church is one of the oldest, dating back to the 18th-century.
Each edifice was selected as a perfect exemplar of its type in Latvia's diverse historical regions, dismantled, transported to Riga and re-erected at the museum. In some of the buildings, craftsmen work with time-honoured techniques and traditional equipment.
On the first weekend in June, a major fair draws artists and artisans from far and wide, as well as huge crowds eager to find a good bargain among the high quality textiles, weavings, ceramics and other goods on offer. For added entertainment, folklore ensembles present musical and dance performances on an open-air stage throughout the duration of the fair.
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