Open air museums and theme parks

Latvia's wide cultural landscape is given an extra dimension by its open air museums, sculpture parks and specially themed exhibitions. They not only celebrate the Latvian peoples' achievements, they also draw on intriguing mementoes of the country's past rulers, from elegant German manor houses to Soviet leaders' limousines.

FOLK ART - THE KEY TO LIVING TRADITIONS

All aspects of folk art - song, dance, festivals and applied arts - play an inspiring role in Latvian life. The top events take place at the vast Mezaparks open air stage in the woods outside Riga, where the auditorium seats 25,000 choir singers and a 30,000 audience. Choirs from many nations have performed here. Folk songs inspired the 21 sculptures at the Turaida folk song park, near Sigulda. Dancers and singers often perform here during summer, on a hill that was an ancient settlement of the Liv people.

A NATURE PARK AND CHILDREN'S STORIES

More diverse experiences can be yours at the Tervete nature park, 70km south west of Riga. Here in 1,300 ha of delightful wooded hills and streams you unexpectedly encounter sculptures of the children's story characters from the Latvian writer Anna Brigadere's work, while her little House - called Tom Thumb - is a museum. There are hiking routes and nature paths, bird watching guides are available and there is accommodation.

WHERE THE PAST COMES TO LIFE

Set among trees by a lake outside Riga, the Open Air Ethnographic Museum evokes country life of the past. More than 120 wooden buildings from all over the country have been re-erected in natural surroundings. They range from an inn, a church and whole farmsteads to fishermen's net huts. More than 3,000 household artefacts are on display. Of many events staged here, the largest is a fair selling items of handicrafts, held on the first Sunday of June. There are smaller open air museums at Ventspils, Ludza and Jekabpils. Or go out to the small farmstead museum at Zemgale, near Bauska, which also has a farm machinery museum.

CARS OF THE FAMOUS

The Riga Motor Museum is where you'll find Stalin's armoured limousine, not to mention the Rolls Royce Brezhnev crashed (still unrepaired). Its excellently displayed array of vintage cars, racing cars and very early motorbikes make it one of the country's most popular museums.

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