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The Turaida Museum Reserve was established in the
historical centre of Turaida and on the basis of the
Sigulda Local History Museum, by virtue of Instruction
No. 361 of the Soviet Latvian Council of Ministers (4
November 1988), “On the Establishment of the Turaida
Museum Reserve.” The collection of the museum reserve
is based on the rich environmental, tangible and intangi-
ble cultural heritage of the historical centre of Turaida, as
developed over the course of the past millennium.
The aim of the museum reserve is to preserve for futu-
re generations one of the oldest sets of cultural monu-
ments in Latvia – the one that is found in the historical
centre of Turaida. The region has been declared to be
a specifically protected cultural monument with spe-
cific historical, scientific and cultural values which are
a part of the national wealth of the Republic of Latvia.
The Turaida Museum Reserve is a national museum, and
its mission is to establish a harmonic society by demons-
trating the development of Latvian thinking via the envi-
ronmental, cultural and historical treasures which have
been collected in and around Turaida during the past
millennium.
The historical centre of Turaida includes nearly all of the
elements of typical cultural and historical centres in Latvia
– a hill fort with the foundations of a wooden castle, a Me-
dieval stone castle, a church, a cemetery, the buildings of
a baronial estate, the centre of a kolkhoz, a park, a system
of ponds, green areas, roads, paths and routes, and a
cultural and historical landscape to bring it all toget-
her. There are plenty of cultural and historical centres in
Latvia, both in cities and in rural areas. This particularly
applies to former baronial estates. The historical centre of
Turaida, however, is particularly attractive, because it is on
the banks of the ancient Gauja River Valley and is part of
the territory of the Gauja National Park.
The museum reserve seeks to study, maintain and preserve
buildings in the historical centre of Turaida – monuments
which are found in a territory of 42.25 ha. The preserva-
tion of existing monuments is guaranteed because of their
use, which is in line with the status of monuments. There
is much respect not just for the buildings, but also for their
history and content. Monuments cannot be split apart
from the history to which they stand witness or from the
environment in which they are found. Buildings which are
monuments are found in the open air, are used as exhibition
facilities, and provide services to the infrastructure of the
museum reserve. Irrespective of its age, level of presenta-
tion and historical or other cultural value, each building is
studied, documented and maintained. The same is true of
the natural environment of the centre, which has emerged
over the course of the millennium and represents the living
space, cultural environment and natural heritage of local
residents. This, too, is studied, examined and documented.
The buildings in the historical centre of Turaida feature 38
museum exhibitions at this time. These speak to events in
this territory in the context of historical events in Latvia
and elsewhere in Europe. The exhibitions are based on
the rich and interesting collection of the museum reserve,
which contains nearly 85,000 individual items.
The museum reserve tells a story about the past millen-
nium in Turaida, starting with Folk Song Park (Tautas-
dziesmu parks) and Folk Song Hill (Dainu kalns). This
is a message about the importance of language and the
sense of people’s lives that is included therein. There
is also the perception and value system of Latvian folk
The historical centre of Turaida and
the Turaida Museum Reserve
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