A year ago, the Riga History and Maritime Museum celebrated its 250th anniversary. It is not only the oldest public museum in Latvia and the Baltic countries, but also the third oldest in Europe. The museum has more than half a million exhibits. Many of them have unique value.
The façade of one building was renovated four years ago. But the last significant renovation work at the museum took place from 1988 to 1989. At the same time, the tiles on the roof of the building were replaced. Imants Zauls, who worked here most of his life as an engineer, also experienced these works. He was also a mountaineer and, together with Teodor Kirsis, were the first Latvians to climb Everest. Mountaineering skills also come in handy at the museum, as leaking roofs often have to be repaired.
Part of the museum has a tiled roof. The tiles have deep holes. The roof looks like a mesh. When it rains, water also enters the attic and seeps further. The attic floor is filled with construction debris, which unnecessarily burdens the building’s structure. There is no thermal insulation.
To prevent further moisture drainage, lay out films and place buckets in those places where it drains the most. The previous dormers were removed and replaced with veneer. As Imant says, all the heat evaporates.
The ceiling collapsed in one of the archive rooms on the top floor. Minimum 15 centimeters. This was due to the fact that the wooden roof structures in the attic were deformed.
Only a small part of the sewerage, heating, and water supply systems is located in the basement of the museum. Most of them have already been replaced there, because they become covered with limescale and simply stop functioning. But most of the communications are buried in the yard, where there is a historical covering that you cannot dig yourself. Therefore, the museum lives on a “powder keg”. Water and heating can run out at any time.
A year ago, a commission of the Riga City Council inspected the museum and came to the conclusion that one of the facades in the museum courtyard was in such poor condition that it was included in the list of objects that deteriorate the environment. Thus, this year the Riga municipality will have to pay an increased property tax – 42 thousand euros.
The main value of the museum (collection) is mostly stored in inappropriate premises. With poor or no ventilation created during the Soviet years. In many places, employees’ workstations are also sandwiched between shelves of century-old fossils. Which is contrary to any storage standards. Some exhibits are stored in refrigerators, which is also not suitable, and there are no other cold display cases.
The windows are old and broken. But as a historical monument, they cannot be repaired on their own, without restorers and a project. Heat supply since Soviet times. Museum employees ironically say that from next year the law will oblige public buildings to install equipment that regulates heat supply. This is physically impossible here.
20 years ago, the Ministry of Finance took over the museum buildings from the Ministry of Culture. Management was transferred to State Joint Stock Company Valsts nekustamie īpašumi. They say that more than 15 years ago a management and use agreement was concluded with the museum. It provides that full management, maintenance and long-term investment planning of the facility is carried out by the museum itself. Collecting money is also the responsibility of the museum. Currently the museum does not pay for the premises. The manager offers to conclude a lease agreement. You will then have to pay rent, which will allow you to schedule some maintenance work. But this still will not solve the issue of major repairs, for example, a leaking roof, heating, water supply, or a collapsed ceiling.
“We are talking about payments that are made every month. We don’t yet know what to do with the institution that is inside. Because now we have to talk about the complete reconstruction of the museum, which we are not talking about now, but, for example, if… This means that our museum will have to be moved somewhere for at least three years. Because this structured approach with savings means that we make these investments in the building according to plan, so that something does not happen when we have to completely reconstruct the entire building,” explains Andris Varna, member of the board of State Joint Stock Company “Valsts nekustamie īpašumi”.
The condition and wear of the museum building has already reached about 40%, which can be described as unsatisfactory. Management and use agreements were also concluded with other museums. This helps to accumulate a special fund that can be used for larger projects. And prevent the building from deteriorating. As the Ministry of Finance responded, the Ministry of Culture requested money for the reconstruction of the museum for the next 3 years – almost 3 million in total. As well as money that would allow us to conclude a lease agreement. This will require another 394,200 euros per year. But the Ministry of Finance’s answer is laconic:
in 2024 – 815,901 euros,
in 2025 – 886,884 euros,
in 2026 – 964,043 euros.
“Given the limited capacity of the state budget, the requests were not supported. The museum presents several projects. The oldest was made before the crisis in 2008. Documents for reconstruction were written, money was sought. But the projects were not implemented. Museum staff fear that the building will have to be closed due to a serious accident. The Minister of Culture proposes to sit down at the negotiating table between both ministries and look for a solution. Because she doesn’t have an answer on what to do at the moment,” the Ministry of Finance replied.
Culture Minister Agnese Logina from the Progressives admits that she is extremely concerned about this situation. “I’m glad this conversation started because it’s really dramatic. What goes into national reserves is something that we as a society, as a nation, have agreed upon that is our core and should be preserved for the future. And if we cannot preserve it, then this is a very serious problem,” Logina emphasized.
The minister also noted that the Ministry of Culture cannot independently resolve the issue of restoration of the Riga History and Maritime Museum. “It’s impossible,” she says. – I can show different tables, different calculations, data, everything else, but this is a question of values. The maintenance of museums and memory institutions is a matter of values, not things that will bring immediate economic returns. Institutions of memory are what form the core of our nation and the understanding of who we are as a nation, as a country. And if we cannot take care of our museums, archives, libraries, then in the long run we will have very big problems with our identity.”
As the director of the Riga Museum of History and Navigation told the Nekā personīga program, many technical problems in the museum were solved only thanks to Imants Zauls, who, at 80 years old, is still trying to save the collapsed ceiling, pipes and roof in the face of a complete lack of money.
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2024-05-03 02:17:43