LATVIA / JEWISH RIGA WALKING TOUR

Tour starts at your hotel lobby, guide await you.

– what remains of this one-time place of worship and to meditate on one of the most beastly crimes committed during the Nazi occupation of Latvia. On July 4, 1941, hundreds of Jewish refugees from Lithuania and local Latvian Jews were herded into the basement of the synagogue which was then intentionally burned to the ground. Only ruins, a metal menorah and a memorial stone remain. A memorial to Žanis Lipke and other Latvians who saved hundreds of Jews is located next to it.

Riga Ghetto Museum is located in the historic area bordering the former ghetto. More than 70,000 names of Holocaust victims and a photo exhibition, focusing on anti-Semitic propaganda, the Holocaust in Latvia, the resistance movement and those who provided safe haven, are set on a piece of land, covered by cobblestone taken from the streets of the former ghetto.

The synagogue is one of Riga’s Art Nouveau jewels and a significant cultural monument. Peitav shul is the only active synagogue in Riga. At the end of the 19th century a Jewish parish was founded in Old Riga. Land was bought and in 1903 a permit was issued for building a synagogue. The original project was drawn by architect Hermanis Zeiberlihs, later it was improved by Vilhelms Neimanis.

End at your hotel.