The Gold Hall was used as the Duke’s throne room. The golden stucco decorations on the background of two-coloured stucco marble, made by Johann Michael Graff, create a glamorous atmosphere indispensible for an audience hall. The ceiling painting, made by Francesco Martini and Carlo Zucchi, depicts the apotheosis of Duke Ernst Johann.
The White Hall was initially designed as a chapel, but in the second construction period it was transformed into a ball-room. The stucco decorations on the walls depict different pastoral scenes as well as the four seasons and four elements of the world.
The House of the Blackheads was built in 1334 as part of the ensemble of buildings making up Riga’s Town Square. Since 1522, it has been rebuilt several times. Intended to serve as a conference and festive venue for Riga’s public organisations, the House of the Blackheads and its interior were restored in 1999.
Since its establishment in 1924, the museum has collected 118 historical buildings from all over Latvia. Riga and all of Latvia’s regions, Kurzeme, Vidzeme, Zemgale, and Latgale, are represented here. The buildings have been set up to give visitors a sense of Latvia’s rural landscape.
