Riga Motor Museum ( lv, Rīgas motormuzejs) is the biggest antique vehicle museum in the
Baltic countries
The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Euro ...
, located in Riga, Latvia.
The museum is a state agency operating under the
Republic of Latvia Ministry of Transport. Since 1992, the museum is a member of
International Association of Transport and Communication Museums (IATM–ICOM), since 1994 a member of
Latvian Museum Association, since 2002 – a member of
Latvian Transport Development and Education Association. The museum is located at 6 Sergeja Eizenšteina Street in the
Mežciems neighbourhood of Riga. The museum also features a café and a sports club.
The museum was founded in 1989 on an initiative from Latvia Antique Automobile club (AA
The building was designed by the
Latgyprogorstroy architect
Viktors Valgums. Since 1992 it is a state museum.
In 2013 the museum closed for reconstruction works. All vehicles were moved to temporary museum location in Rāmava. In 2 July 2016 the museum opened after reconstruction for everyone.
Exhibits
The museum consists of three floors, each with a different theme. The ground floor starts with the history of the automobile, before progressing through the history of cars in the early twentieth century and the manufacture of cars in Latvia. The first floor focuses on motorsports, cars of cultural significance and the
soviet car industry, including a collection of soviet state cars that were used to transport soviet leaders safely and luxuriously. The basement contains a range of trucks and special purposes vehicles, including firetrucks, ambulances and other early special vehicles.
One of the most significant exhibits in the museum is a replica of the 1938
Auto Union racing car Type C/D. The original car was saved from cutting into scrap by Viktors Kulbergs, president of Antique Automobile Club of Latvia but then exchanged for a replica from Crostwaite & Gardiner and Roach Manufacturing after negotiations with Audi AG in 1995. Original 1938 car can now be admired in Audi's museum mobile in Ingolstadt.
Ford-Vairogs
Ford-Vairogs ("Vairogs" meaning "Shield") (earlier called "Fenikss") was the name of a car factory in Riga, Latvia, that produced license built Ford cars between September 1937 and 1940 when it was expropriated as the property of the Soviet go ...
V8 "De Luxe" (1938)in Riga Motor museum
File:Horch-830BL.jpg, Horch
Horch () was a car brand manufacturer, founded in Germany by August Horch & Cie at the beginning of the 20th century.
It is one of the predecessors of the present day Audi company, which itself resulted from the merger of Auto Union Aktieng ...
830BL (1935) in Riga Motor museum
File:Harley-Davidson-WL.jpg, Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depre ...
mod. WL (1947) in Riga motor museum
File:Moskvich 400-420 (Москвич-400-420).JPG, Moskvich 400-420 in Riga motor museum
File:Moskvich-401-424E 1949.jpg, Moskvich 401-424E in Riga Motor museum
File:Packard-Super-Eight-1502.jpg, Packard Super Eight
The Packard Super Eight was the larger of the two eight-cylinder luxury automobiles produced by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan. It shared frames and some body types with the top model Packard Twelve. The 1933-1936 Packard S ...
1502 (1937) in Riga Motor museum
File:RAF-2907 (2203) for Moscow 1980.JPG, Latvian built RAF-2907, based on RAF-2203 "Latvija" in Riga Motor museum.
File:Hansa-G12-36.jpg, Hansa G 12/36 Renntorpedo (1914) in Riga Motor museum
File:ZIL-112S-front.jpg, ZIL-112 Sports (1961) in Riga Motor museum
References
External links
* http://www.motormuzejs.lv/
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Automotive museums
Museums in Riga
Transport museums in Latvia
1989 establishments in Latvia