Museum of Decorative Arts & Design


The former St George’s Church houses a museum devoted to applied art from the art nouveau period to the present, including an impressive collection of furniture, woodcuts, tapestries and ceramics. The building’s foundations date back to 1207, when the Livonian Brothers of the Sword erected their castle here. Since the rest of the original knights' castle was levelled by rioting citizens at the end of the same century, it is the only building that remains intact from the birth of Rīga.


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Nearby attractions

1. Rīga Porcelain Museum

0.05 MILES

This quirky museum houses a collection of porcelain assembled in now-defunct local porcelain factories from Soviet times. One was run by Russians hailing…

2. St Peter's Church

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Forming the centrepiece of Rīga’s skyline, this Gothic church is thought to be around 800 years old, making it one of the oldest medieval buildings in the…

3. St John’s Church

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A 13th- to 19th-century amalgam of Gothic and baroque styles, the church was first mentioned when the citizens installed catapults on its roof and…

4. Statue of St Roland

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A statue of St Roland, the city’s patron, takes pride of place on the square in front of the town hall.

5. Mentzendorff's House

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Built in 1695 as the home of a wealthy German glazier, this sparsely furnished house offers insight into everyday life for Rīga's successful merchants…

6. Blackheads House

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Built in 1344 as a veritable fraternity house for the Blackheads guild of unmarried German merchants, the original house was bombed in 1941 and flattened…

7. Town Hall

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Rīga's historic town hall was destroyed in WWII and rebuilt from scratch in 2003. A statue of St Roland, the city’s patron, takes pride of place on the…

8. Museum of the Barricades of 1991

0.12 MILES

Latvia's independence came after enormous struggles. One of the most remarkable stories involves the barricades built by thousands of citizens around…