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.
Popular Front Museum
Old Rīga
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Alberta Iela
0.87 MILES
Like a huge painting that you can spend hours staring at, as your eye detects more and more intriguing details, this must-see Rīga sight is in fact a…
Pilsētas Kanāls (City Canal)
0.66 MILES
Pilsētas kanāls, the city’s old moat, once protected the medieval walls from invaders. Today the snaking ravine has been incorporated into a thin belt of…
Rīga Central Market
0.24 MILES
Haggle for your huckleberries at this vast market, housed in a series of WWI Zeppelin hangars and spilling outdoors as well. It's an essential Rīga…
Rīga Cathedral
0.32 MILES
Founded in 1211 as the seat of the Rīga diocese, this enormous (once Catholic, now Evangelical Lutheran) cathedral is the largest medieval church in the…
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…
Art Museum Rīga Bourse
0.33 MILES
Rīga’s lavishly restored 1852 stock exchange building is a worthy showcase for the city's art treasures. The elaborate facade features a coterie of…
Freedom Monument
0.36 MILES
Affectionately known as ‘Milda’, Rīga’s Freedom Monument towers above the city between Old and Central Rīga. Paid for by public donations, the monument…
Rīga Castle
0.52 MILES
Built in 1330 as the headquarters of the grand master of the Livonian Order, this building has been much mutated over the years and now only looks…
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…