Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
Photo: Own work — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Established in 1993, the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia educates visitors about the 51-year period when Latvia was occupied by the USSR and Nazi Germany, featuring artifacts, documents, and personal testimonies.
Planning your visit
Latvia was occupied for 51 years — by the Soviet Union in 1940, by Nazi Germany from 1941, and by the Soviet Union again from 1944 until independence in 1991 — and the museum's premise is that these were successive occupations rather than a legitimate change of government.
The exhibitions cover the mass deportations to Siberia in 1941 and 1949, which removed tens of thousands of people including entire families; the Holocaust in Latvia, in which the great majority of the Jewish population was murdered, with substantial local collaboration that the museum addresses; the resistance; and the singing revolution that ended it.
Reconstructions include a Gulag barrack.
The building is a controversial modernist black box from the Soviet period, originally a museum to the Latvian Red Riflemen, extended recently.
It sits in the Old Town by the Riflemen's Square. Allow ninety minutes. Bookable options combine it with old town tours. Current availability is listed below.
Before you book
Where is Museum of the Occupation of Latvia?
Museum of the Occupation of Latvia is in Riga, Latvia. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for Museum of the Occupation of Latvia?
Allow ninety minutes. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
What are the opening hours of Museum of the Occupation of Latvia?
Every day 10:00 - 18:00 Daily 10.30 - 17.30. Hours change on public holidays, so check the official site before travelling.
Do I need to book Museum of the Occupation of Latvia in advance?
Guided tours run to a fixed schedule and small group sizes, so they are usually booked ahead.
