This year, in order to promote the local tourism offer of Salaspils Municipality, we are starting the following initiative, where we will publish an article in the middle of each month in the section “Meet our people in tourism!” Each of the articles will contain descriptive information about our tourism businesses and service providers, and we will publish these articles once a month not only on our website but also on Facebook @salaspilstic.
This time we will tell you about the only museum in the Baltics dedicated to the history of the river – Daugava Museum!
Also known as the pearl of Dole Island, the Daugava Museum was founded in 1969 and opened its doors to visitors in 1977. The museum was originally known as Dole History Museum, but in 1993 it was renamed as the Daugava Museum. Since 1996 the Daugava Museum is under the administrative authority of Salaspils Municipality. The idea of establishing the Daugava Museum arose in connection with the planned construction of the Riga Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP). Prior to the works, excavations were carried out in the territory of the future water reservoir, resulting in a rich collection of archaeological material talking about the events on the banks of the Daugava, starting with the arrival of the first inhabitants in the territory of Latvia. The museum is housed in the new manor house of the Dole Manor complex, surrounded by a historic park. The display contains evidence of cultural history of the Daugava, Latvia’s river of destiny, and the Salaspils region. Unique materials on the earliest history of Latvia, starting with the first settlement of Stone Age people – the Salaspils Laukskola (9th century BC ) are available.
In 2017, the permanent exhibition of the museum was upgraded and now covers 176 m2. The exhibition consists of two thematic parts. The first one is devoted to the history of the Daugava River, while the second – to the history of Salaspils region in the 19th-20th centuries. The permanent exhibition of the museum is the largest public collection available on the history of the Daugava River and Salaspils Region, containing 957 exhibits – 199 objects and 758 photographs. The Daugava Museum currently has more than 55 000 items in its collection.
The interactive exhibition gives a glimpse in what the Daugava valley looked like before the construction of the HPP cascade and allows comparing the present with the past. The park contains a centenary farmstead of fishermen from the lower Daugava, an exhibition of fishing gear, and a reconstruction of the largest fishing gear used in the Daugava – salmon and lamprey weir. You can also experience the Daugava from the bird’s-eye view: a 360˚ walk along the banks of the Daugava River, allowing to explore 10 places along the Daugava from Krāslava to Daugavgrīva. The points are placed as QR codes on stylised border stones in the museum park along the Daugava. Scanning the code on your phone opens up a 360˚ aerial view of the Daugava at Krāslava, Koknese, Dole Island, etc. The fascinating views are accompanied by an audio guide with a story about the place and historical photographs from the Daugava Museum collection. On the bank of the Daugava River, you can see a natural monument of national importance – a dolomite outcrop.
The museum offers a variety of recreational opportunities – it is possible to rent the park’s recreation area, picnic areas, shelters, and fireplaces for private events on the banks of the Daugava.
The museum offers guided tours, creative, active, and educational museum education classes for schoolchildren, as well as a special themed excursion on the wedding day.
The seasonal adventure game “The Key of the Boat” is available in the museum park (01.04.-01.11.). The aim of the game is to introduce participants to the lifestyle of fishermen in the 19th and 20th centuries, the history of the island of Dole and the manor in an interactive way. Participants work in groups to find their way around the park and use the various attributes of the game to solve tasks and puzzles in order to help the fisherman Andris find the key of his boat. A family booklet “Secrets of the Daugava Museum” which the families can ask at the ticket office and together go in search of the secrets of the Daugava Museum. Guided tours, masterclasses and group visits must be booked in advance.
The mission of the Daugava Museum is to educate the public about the basic cultural and natural values of the Daugava Valley and Salaspils Municipality, as well as to promote the formation of a unifying historical understanding of events in Salaspils Municipality and along the banks of the Daugava River. The museum, based on the collection and the results of its research, promotes the cultural heritage of Salaspils Municipality and the Daugava Valley from prehistoric times to the present day.
The Daugava Museum offers to experience, enjoy, and feel a variety of truly educational experiences all year round. Throughout the year, the museum hosts various events, thematic exhibitions, masterclasses, and organises joyful celebration of Easter, Midsummer, Miķeļdiena (autumnal solstice) and other festivals. Local craftsmen, home producers and folklore groups take part in the events. Outdoor music concerts and ancient skills workshops are held in the summer season.
In December 2023, the Daugava Museum opened the exhibition “Illegal Fishing: Violations of Fishery Law from the beginning of the 20th century to the present”. The exhibition gathered objects from the Daugava Museum’s collection, fishing gear from private collections and evidence of poaching in inland waters in the 20th/21st centuries. The aim of the exhibition is to draw public attention to one of Latvia’s economic and ecological resources – fish – and the illegal methods by which this resource is endangered. The author of the exhibition is the Director of the Museum Ms. Inese Kupšāne, the curator is Mr. Aivars Siliņš. The exhibition will be open until September 2024.
Doles sala, Salaspils novads,
+371 67216367,
daugavas.muzejs@inbox.lv
Facebook: @Daugavasmuzejs
Twitter.com: @DaugavasMuzejs
Instagram.com: @daugavasmuzejs
Opening hours:
Winter season: daily from 10:00–17:00, closed on Mondays.
Summer season: daily from 10:00–18:00, closed on Mondays.
GPS : 56.8480, 24.2284
Video by: Jurģis Kreilis, FilmDay
Video can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/salaspilstic/videos/390662496888964