Riga Motor Museum grew from a club of enthusiasts who collected and restored historic vehicles. Its collection connects Latvian motoring with international engineering, racing and everyday transport in a purpose-built museum opened in 1989.
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Riga Motor Museum began with people who rescued old vehicles before they had a museum in which to put them. In 1972, enthusiasts formed Latvia’s Antique Automobile Club, sharing information, finding vehicles and restoring them. Their first leader, Viktors Kulbergs, helped bring together a community whose enthusiasm eventually produced a purpose-built museum in Riga’s Mežciems district.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- Latvia’s Antique Automobile Club, founded in 1972, helped create the museum.
- The museum opened in 1989 and was reconstructed between 2013 and 2016.
- Its Benz Patent Motorwagen is a replica of an early automobile.
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