On December 1, the opening ceremony of the renovated castle convent took place at the Riga Castle with the premiere of Uģis Prauliņš and Guntars Godiņš's new work "Ode to Riga Castle". Less than five months before the planned completion date, on December 4 of this year, the renovated premises of the Riga Castle convent were put into operation, informs Renārs Griškevičs, Chairman of the Board of SJSC "State Real Estate" (SRE).
“Riga Castle has been the true home of the Latvian National Museum of History for more than a century. This is a solemn moment, because every time a museum returns to its real, historical home, it is a celebration for both the museum industry and the Ministry of Culture. Museums strengthen public knowledge, self-awareness and our common democracy on a daily basis by telling about the history of Latvia, researching and popularizing historical heritage. In order to do this respectfully, it is necessary to ensure both the opportunity to attract professionals and an infrastructure that meets today's needs. I am glad that very soon the employees of the history museum will be able to carry out this important work in properly adapted and renovated premises,” says Minister of Culture Agnese Logina.
As a result of the reconstruction, the largest part of the castle has undergone functional and visual renovation, installing infrastructure that meets modern needs and creating appropriate spaces for the museum. During the restoration and renovation process, the best possible solutions were sought for highlighting and restoring medieval elements, removing the layering of many later centuries in the process. In this way, the original image of the premises has been highlighted. The original appearance of the premises has been taken into account as much as possible when restoring the basement, as well as the two main rooms restored and adapted for museum needs - the chapel and the festive dining hall or remter.
“We are truly pleased with the completed Riga Castle convent renovation project and grateful to all parties involved for the extensive work invested in the design, construction, restoration and other processes related to the project. The main goal of the reconstruction and restoration works of the Riga Castle convent was to preserve the historical heritage and create modern museum spaces. In the project, we paid special attention to the principles of sustainable construction and restoration, using construction materials recovered during the construction works for recycling whenever possible. Benches were made from wooden beams, museum information stand counters and souvenir shop furniture were made from roof copper, a restored plank floor was laid in the rooms on the 2nd floor, wooden benches were made, and historical doors and windows were restored. At present, we can say that we have achieved our goals ahead of time - less than five months before the planned completion date of the construction works, and very soon the Latvian National Museum of History will be able to return to its historic home, promoting the accessibility of the historical and cultural heritage of the Riga Castle to a wider audience," says Renārs Griškevičs, Chairman of the Board of SRE.
Riga Castle has been the historical home of the Latvian National Museum of History (LNMH) since 1920. The museum will begin to occupy the renovated palace premises in the second half of 2024 with an engaging program of events, followed by the installation of new exhibitions. The LNMH will begin full-fledged operations at Riga Castle in the second half of 2025 with three new modern permanent exhibitions and an opening exhibition.
Dr. hist. Arnis Radiņš, Director of the Latvian National Museum of History, points out that: “The Latvian National Museum of History is truly pleased that the first and second stages of the reconstruction and restoration of the Riga Castle convent have been completed. Consequently, one of the most important memory institutions in the Baltic Sea region continues to experience significant changes. The museum will now have access to the renovated southern wing of the convent, which will open up qualitatively new opportunities for the public to learn about the history of Latvia. Returning to its historical home after a ten-year break is another step in the upward path of the institution’s development. The Latvian National Museum of History is at the beginning of a new era in its activities.”
At the start of construction work in October 2020, the Chairman of the Board of SRE, Renārs Griškevičs, ceremoniously handed over the key to the Riga Castle to Kaspars Ratkevičs, a member of the board of the construction company AS “LNK Industries” (JSC), thus symbolically entrusting the construction company with the care of the Riga Castle. Today, at the opening event, the key was returned to SRE, which in turn passed it on to the Latvian National Museum of History.
“For AS “LNK Industries” as the general contractor, receiving the keys to the Riga Castle back then, in October 2020, marking the start of construction work, was a very critical moment when we confirmed our readiness to carry out the reconstruction of this historic building. We had a great honor and responsibility to carry out the restoration of one of the largest medieval castles in Latvia. Today, handing over the keys to the castle owners, I can say with full confidence that we carried out the work with respect and care for the cultural and historical heritage of Latvia. As part of the I and II stages of the reconstruction – restoration of the Riga Castle convent, the reconstruction of the interior was carried out, the renovation of the historical two-story building volume of two significant interiors – the remter and the chapel, and the restoration of surfaces. We are very pleased that, despite the usual challenges of restoration work, as well as unforeseen exceptional circumstances at a global level, we were able to complete the work on time and thanks to the constructive and professional work of the entire team, the convent part of the Riga Castle can now be seen in its historical form!” emphasizes Kaspars Ratkevičs, member of the board of AS “LNK Industries”.
Anastasija Pimenova, architect and head of the design supervision work at the design office “MARK arhitekti”, said: “One of the biggest challenges of the design supervision was to combine the different historical periods of the castle and create a new, recognizable image of the Riga Castle, while preserving the castle’s history and individuality, while at the same time allowing a modern and contemporary museum to enter it. By restoring the historic chapels and the remter’s halls, the most impressive structural changes in the history of Latvian castle reconstructions have been implemented. I hope that museum visitors and guests will be as inspired by the restored Riga Castle convent rooms as we were during the construction process.”
Architect and head of the project's restoration department Ilona Markuse: "I am very happy and satisfied with the work done restorating the Riga Castle convent. Although the museum will receive the fully restored palace premises after the next construction phase, the gradual research and restoration of the premises has yielded many new archaeological discoveries about the city of Riga, before the Riga Castle was even built. Museum visitors will be able to explore this in the new exhibition spaces. During the supervision period, it was possible to change and improve the construction project solutions, for example, by restoring the unique remtera hall. Many restorers and industry specialists participated in the restoration of the palace with their knowledge and experience. I would like to thank everyone for their participation and hard work."
Architect Reinis Liepiņš, head of the architectural office “Sudraba Arhitektūra”, expresses his gratitude and is pleased with the work done: “We started work on the Riga Castle convent renovation project ten years ago - in December 2013. And the restoration concept we initially proposed - “a bright castle with warm wooden floors” - has now been implemented in life. It is nice to see and realize that this concept has turned out to be correct and acceptable for everyone. More than 80 people have been involved in the development of the large-scale construction project of the convent and I would like to thank all of them very much for their work! The path of Latvian history has been woven into the walls of the Riga Castle convent through the centuries. I wish that the upcoming exhibition of the Latvian National Museum of History will reveal this path and continue to expand it!”
The total budget of the project is almost 26 million euros. Under the leadership of the Riga Castle convent, the first and second stages of construction work were carried out by AS “LNK Industries” (JSC), investing state budget and ERDF funding attracted by the Ministry of Culture. The renovation of the Riga Castle convent was carried out according to the construction project developed by PS “Rīgas Pils konventa projekts” (GP). Construction supervision was carried out by SIA “Būvalts” (Ltd.). The project was completed in 2023, and the premises were put into operation on December 4, 2023.
The project was financed from the funding attracted by the Ministry of Culture from the European Union Funds Operational Programme “Growth and Employment” priority “Environmental protection and resource efficiency” 5.5.1. specific support objective “Preserve, protect and develop significant cultural and natural heritage, as well as develop related services” fourth round of project application selection “Preservation, restoration of cultural heritage and development of related infrastructure in the territory of the historic centre of Riga” and state budget funding.
About SJSC “State Real Estate”
SRE is successfully implementing 34 projects of national importance, of which 14 are under construction. The total implementation budget of the projects is more than 399 million euros. SRE provides professional real estate management and administration for 419 buildings and structures, which include 1049 buildings with an area of 0.98 million square meters, as well as land under buildings with an area of 585 ha, and 3385 land properties with a total area of 937 ha. SRE is one of 17 Latvian companies that received the highest platinum award in the 2023 “Sustainability Index” assessment of the Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Institute, confirming good governance and sustainability of its operations. The company was founded in 1996, its 100% shareholder is the Ministry of Finance.
Additional information for the media:
SJSC "State Real Estate"
Corporate Communications and Sustainability Department
Tel.: +371 20235301
E-mail: komunikacija@vni.lv
(Translated with the help of DeepL Translate)
