The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia () is an open-air museum located just outside Riga, the capital of Latvia, on the lightly wooded shores of Jugla Lake. In 1924, the Latvian Council of Monuments signed an order to create the open-air museum in Riga. The idea for the new museum was inspired by open-air museums in Scandinavia, particularly Skansen in Stockholm. The plan was to relocate a homestead from all four regions of Latvia – Courland, Zemgale, Vidzeme and Latgale – to the museum. Each of the buildings would represent the different crafts of
Culture of Latvia Culture of Latvia The culture of Latvia combines traditional Latvian and Livonian heritage with influences of the country's varied historical heritage. The area of Latvia has been inhabited since 9000 BC. Baltic tribes, the ancestors of present-day Latvians, arrived around 3000 BC. In the 13th century after conquest of today's Latvia, Baltic Germans settled here and gradually became the upper class and rulers of Latvia, while Latvians and Livonians lost their positions finally becoming serfs in the 16th century. This caused the Germanisation of the educated inhabitants of other nationalities, yet preserved some local traditions. In the 19th century, when