At its meeting on September 12, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the regulatory framework* directed by the Ministry of Culture (MoC) for the preservation, protection and development of unique cultural monuments of national importance located in the historic center of Riga, an area included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
By implementing this measure, co-financed by European Union (EU) funds, it is intended not only to enrich the content offer of cultural heritage and promote the innovative use of cultural heritage as a sustainable resource to improve the quality of human life, but also to promote the accessibility of objects for people with functional disabilities and integrate innovative solutions into projects that allow the development of the digital offer of cultural content.
Within the framework of the measure, it is planned to develop 3 objects in the historical center of Riga:
The Great Guild (Amatu Street 6), the renovation of which began in the previous EU funds planning period and will be continued in this one, combining the funding required for the work with the funding from the Energy Efficiency Improvement Program of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism;
The Exhibition Hall of the Latvian National Museum of Art “Arsenāls” (Torņa Street 1); the funding required for the renovation of this cultural monument of national importance will also be supplemented from the funding from the Energy Efficiency Improvement Program of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism;
The public outdoor space of Old Town Riga, which envisages improvements in the functionality of the territory of the historical center of Riga and its protection zone, ensuring a balanced movement of people crossing Old Town (active visitors, tourists, residents, workers) without physical and mobile obstacles. In accordance with the Riga City Municipality project plan, “Promoting the development and accessibility of the Old Town public outdoor space”, the development of the initial construction documentation (technical feasibility study) is currently underway, followed by the development of the construction project.
It has been determined that the total EU funding planned for the activity is no less than 33,712,500 euros, including European Regional Development Fund funding in the form of a grant of no more than 28,655,625 euros and national funding of 5,056,875 euros (state budget co-financing of 4,174,522 euros and local government co-financing of 882,353 euros).
The measure will be implemented through a limited selection of project applications. The project applicants for the measure are the state joint-stock company "State Real Estate" and the Riga City Municipality, which own, hold, use or possess cultural heritage objects or infrastructure in which these EU funds and national financing investments are planned.
* - Implementation rules of measure 5.1.1.5. "Restoration of unique European cultural heritage to promote its accessibility by developing cultural services" of the specific support objective 5.1.1. of the European Union Cohesion Policy Programme 2021-2027 "Promoting integrated social, economic and environmental development of local territories and cultural heritage, tourism and safety in urban functional areas".
Additional information:
Lita Kokale,
Head of the Public Relations Division, Ministry of Culture
26469946
Lita.Kokale@km.gov.lv
(Translated with the help of DeepL Translate)
