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Riga Ghetto and Holocaust Museum gets reprieve, 10-year lease extension
The Riga Ghetto and Holocaust Museum has just gotten a reprieve from possibly having to move or close down. It is located at the edge of the historic Spīķeru or Warehouse District by the Daugava River shoreline just outside the Riga Old Town and adjacent to the Riga Market in the Latvian capital. The newly-formed Riga City Council on October 27 extended the rent-free lease of the museum’s territory for another 10 years, but subject to restrictions on any new construction on the site.
The museum is the main project of the Jewish organization Shamir, which also does research and public information on Latvia’s largely destroyed Jewish houses of worship and other aspects of Jewish life and history in the Baltic nation.
Rabbi Menachem Barkahan, the head of Shamir, is pleased that the museum has been given a reprieve, but stresses that the restrictions, unless they can be softened by future negotiations, will prevent full development of the museum as envisioned and lead contribute to a slow “degradation” of the exhibit area, referring to the effect of weather on outdoor exhibits and the need to totally renovate some of the exhibit halls.
Memorial wall with 75 000 names
Shamir together with museum specialists and architects has developed a plan for…
