Open from the 3rd March till 14 April .
The exhibition is dedicated to the foundation of the cultural monument protection institution – the Board of Monuments that was established in 1923. Its tasks were to identify Latvian cultural heritage, to monitor, collect, protect and promote it by organizing corresponding expeditions and archaeological excavations, as well as to create the list of the protected monuments. Until the Soviet occupation in the summer of 1944, in the list of the protected monuments around 1 450 various cultural monuments were included.
During the expeditions organized by the Board of Monuments in the whole territory of Latvia from 1924 to 1944 around 53 600 photo negatives were taken, reflecting the traditional way of life in the Latvian countryside during the summer, thematically recording agricultural and household work, everyday scenes, as well as celebrations. The documentation in the photo negatives of the traditional skills and lifestyle, which were recorded during these expeditions from 1924 to 1931, is included in the Latvian national register of the UNESCO’s program “Memory of the World”.
In order to protect and to gather disappearing phenomenon of the traditional Latvian lifestyle from 1924 to 1931 the Board of Monuments organized expeditions to Liepāja, Rēzekne, Ilūkste, Daugavpils, Cēsis, Madona, Kuldīga, Tukums and Talsi districts to identify ethnographic monuments and to collect items. During the twenty years of work the Board of Monuments collected more than 100 000 everyday items that were made of wood, metal, clay, textile, home furnishing items, tools, traditional items of clothing and jewellery, as well as descriptions and surveys of monuments, drawings and photographs.
The Board of Monuments also studied archaeological monuments – for scientific purposes large-scale excavations were organized in the mound Tanīskalns in Rauna, Mežotne, Daugmale and mound Jersika. Ancient history monuments of the Stone Age in Sārnate and Dviete were also investigated. The archaeological excavations in ancient burial fields gave a wide range of antiquities and knowledge about burial practices in different periods of history.
The numismatic items found during the ethnographic expeditions and in the course of archaeological excavations of the Board of Monuments were handed over to the museum, because the Board of Monuments itself did not keep collections of artefacts. For enriching the museum’s collection not only coins but also phaleristic items, such as insignia of office and medals were purchased.
In order to identify the architectural and artistic monuments from 1923 to 1938 expeditions to Rīga, Madona, Cēsis, Valmiera, Valka, Ventspils, Talsi and Ilūkste districts were organized. Separate construction elements of the building monuments were identified in other regions of Latvia as well.
Participants of the expedition travelled on expeditions by train, on horse cart, by bicycle, by car, or most often – on foot.
NHML is the main holder of the Board of Monuments’ results of work. In the museum collection there are the results of the archaeological excavations, collections of the photo negatives, lists of monuments, expedition materials, books of meeting minutes and other documents.
Authors of the exhibition: Sanita Stinkule, Gunita Baumane, Ritvars Ritums, Anda Ozoliņa, Ģirts Boronovskis.
Materials from the collection of the National History Museum of Latvia (NHML).