Riga's Jewish Heritage

This tour introduces you to the cultural and national diversity of Riga, which has always been a multi-national city. Jewish heritage occupies a very important role in the history of Riga. During your tour, you will become acquainted with the most important sites and memorial places. Visit the site of the former Great Synagogue, which was built in 1868 and was the biggest and most beautiful synagogue in Riga. However, on July 4, 1941 it was deliberately burned down, with hundreds of Jewish refugees from Lithuania and local Latvian Jews inside. On July 4, 1988 a memorial was established and now a large, gray stone with the inscription Magen David stands on the site of the former place of worship. Drive past the Jewish Hospital Bikur Holim, which was built in 1924. People of different nationalities were and still treated here. Stop for a visit to the Old Jewish Cemetery, which was used from 1725 until 1941. These grounds were within the territory of the Jewish ghetto and became a vast communal grave for many Jewish people killed in 1941. After World War II, many tombstones were stolen, the cemetery was destroyed and turned into a park. Years later a memorial stone was erected here as a reminder of what once was. The stone bears an inscription in Hebrew and English that reads: Here was situated the Old Jewish Cemetery. Head to the outskirts of Riga to a memorial place in Rumbula. During the Nazi regime thousands of Jewish people from all over Europe were massacred here. In the late 1960s a tombstone was placed here in honor of the victims of the Nazi terror. On your return to the city center you will have a chance to visit the New Ghetto Museum and the only synagogue in Riga that still functions; built in 1905 and located in the Old Town.