Museum of the Occupation of Latvia

The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia

A solemn place of remembrance on the Riga audio-guided tour, the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, founded in 1993, has the mission of recounting what the country and its people experienced under the totalitarian regimes between 1940 and 1991.

Half a century of occupations

Because of its strategic position on the Baltic Sea, Latvia was invaded without a declaration of war by the USSR in June 1940. Mass arrests followed and the deportation of more than fifteen thousand people to Siberia and Kazakhstan. In June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the USSR and quickly occupied the country. This period was marked by the Holocaust in Latvia, where nearly seventy thousand Jews were killed.

What to see

After the Nazi defeat, the Red Army retook Latvia in 1944 and the country became a Soviet republic again until its independence in 1991. The museum displays objects, archives and testimonies to transmit this painful memory. Walk through this place with contemplation and respect, in memory of the victims.

Practical information

The Museum of the Occupation is in the centre of Riga. A place of remembrance, it is visited with respect and contemplation; days, hours and access conditions should be checked depending on the season.

What does the Museum of the Occupation trace ?

The history of Latvia under the Soviet and Nazi totalitarian regimes, between 1940 and 1991.

When was the museum founded ?

In 1993, shortly after Latvia's return to independence in 1991.