Exhibition “Four Roads to Valmiera”

From 26 September to 14 November, the second floor of the Valmiera Museum Exhibition House will host a collection exhibition titled “Four Roads to Valmiera”. To mark the opening, on 26 September we invite you to join two guided tours with the exhibition’s creators, Anna Norvele, Head of the History Department at Valmiera Museum, and historian Egils Lūsis. Tours of the exhibition “Four Roads to Valmiera” will take place at 12:00 and 15:00. Advance registration is recommended by calling +371 64207636.

The exhibition is dedicated to the impact of tourism on the city of Valmiera in the 1920s and 1930s and during the Soviet occupation. Through four “routes” - the river, the path, the rails, and the road - it explores the development of transport in the early 20th century and the formation of tourism in Latvia. At the end of the routes, visitors will discover Valmiera from the tourist’s point of view: its main sights and the city’s efforts to become an appealing destination for visitors.

The exhibition is designed as a tourist map with various “points of interest” - thematic stops on different topics. As in the urban environment, themes and time periods intertwine and alternate. Visitors are free to choose the topics and time frame that interest them, or to follow one of the four routes. Like tourists in a city, every visitor takes part in shaping their own experience and makes choices about which points and routes to visit.

The exhibition also offers games and interactive elements for children, teenagers, and adults. Visitors will be able to test their memory in a stamp game, identify propaganda narratives in travel guides, tie knots, and take part in other activities.

The exhibition features objects from the Valmiera Museum collection, as well as items from Cēsis Museum, the Latvian Railway History Museum, the Latvian Firefighting Museum, the National Archives of Latvia and its structural unit, the Latvian State Archive of Film, Photo and Phono Documents, and private collections.

Participation in the tour is free of charge; admission to the exhibition is according to the Valmiera Museum price list.

Prepared by:

Anna Norvele,

Head of the History Department at Valmiera Museum