The Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation is adjacent to the Dome Cathedral and is the oldest meeting in the Baltics. It was created in 1773 on the basis of the collection of the physician Nicholas von Himsel. During his lifetime, he collected a collection of natural and artistic subjects. After his death in 1764 the collection was transferred by his mother to the Riga Rat, which in turn created a museum named after Himsel.
The history of Riga begins in the 11th-12th centuries, when Vetriga became an important commercial and economic center of the whole lower part of the Daugava (Western Dvina). Then the settlers from Northern Kurzeme and the Daugava Livs founded the city at the intersection of the two rivers - Daugava and Ridzene. In the exposition of the museum you can see various items of stone, bronze and iron ages found during excavations in Old Riga. One of the central exhibits is the ship's backbone of the 13th century, which sank in the ancient Riga harbor.
In 1201 Riga became the residence of Bishop Albert. This year is adopted for the date of the founding of the city. Then in Riga the own self-management in which problems creation of a dialogue between a city, the Riga bishops and the Livonian order has been created. By the end of the century, Riga became the largest city of the Hansa in the northern Baltic States, which allowed the economies to develop well, resulting in the formation of two full-fledged guilds and the Blackheads Society. The main part of the collection of that time is made up of the exhibits donated by the Riga Magistrate, the guilds and the Blackhead Society.
At the end of the 16th century Riga did not become an independent city for a long time, but quickly fell under the rule of Poland and for 39 years was part of the Commonwealth, after which it was under the control of the Swedish Crown for 100 years. All this did not prevent the city from developing confidently. Under the Swedish occupation, the city became the largest and strongest fortress on the Baltic coast. The exhibits of that time include the Riga scales and measures, products of various shops and the first printed panorama of the city.
As a result of the Northern War, the entire region of Vidzeme in 1910 passed under the control of the Russian Empire. Under the new power in the city, the struggle between controlling bodies and organizations for influence and preservation of privileges developed, but as a result of the policy of centralization by Russia, all the battles were lost. In the column hall there are over 1000 expositions telling about that time.
The modern image of the city was created in the second half of the XIX century. Then the Latvian Latvian Society was created, which allowed Riga to become the center of national unity. At the beginning of the 20th century, a new and unique style of architecture appeared in the architecture of the city - Jugendstil. In 1918, as a result of mutually beneficial negotiations with Lenin, Estonia and Latvia gained independence from the Soviet Union. The status of the capital Riga was received in 1931. During the first independence period, a large construction began in the city: new quarters were erected, monuments were erected, and a large number of manufactories and industries appeared. In 1940 the development of Latvia was completed by the occupation of the USSR until 1991.
