Popular Front Museum

Old Rīga


A branch of the National History Museum, this exhibition involving interactive multimedia technology covers the period of the third Atmoda (national awakening): the struggle for independence in the years of Soviet perestroika. Led by environmental campaigner Dainis Ivans, Latvian People's Front was an umbrella organisation that united pro-democracy forces and was responsible for such poignant actions as the Baltic Chain, when Latvians, Estonians and Lithuanians built a human chain that went through all three countries.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Old Rīga attractions

1. Latvian Photography Museum

0.04 MILES

Occupying a historic merchant's house from 1500, this little museum displays early images from Rīga along with changing exhibitions of contemporary…

2. Rīga Synagogue

0.05 MILES

Built in 1905, this art nouveau–style synagogue was the only one to survive the Nazi occupation – to torch it in the tightly packed Old Town would have…

3. St John’s Church

0.09 MILES

A 13th- to 19th-century amalgam of Gothic and baroque styles, the church was first mentioned when the citizens installed catapults on its roof and…

4. St Peter's Church

0.12 MILES

Forming the centrepiece of Rīga’s skyline, this Gothic church is thought to be around 800 years old, making it one of the oldest medieval buildings in the…

5. Rīga Porcelain Museum

0.12 MILES

This quirky museum houses a collection of porcelain assembled in now-defunct local porcelain factories from Soviet times. One was run by Russians hailing…

6. Mentzendorff's House

0.13 MILES

Built in 1695 as the home of a wealthy German glazier, this sparsely furnished house offers insight into everyday life for Rīga's successful merchants…

7. Museum of Decorative Arts & Design

0.16 MILES

The former St George’s Church houses a museum devoted to applied art from the art nouveau period to the present, including an impressive collection of…

8. Blackheads House

0.18 MILES

Built in 1344 as a veritable fraternity house for the Blackheads guild of unmarried German merchants, the original house was bombed in 1941 and flattened…