ABOUT THE MUSEUM

The Balvi Regional Museum was established in 1989 and is located in a reconstructed manor barn.

The museum’s collection consists of 25 thousand objects describing the history, population and culture of the former Balvi district from the earliest times to the present day.

Visitors can visit two interactive exhibitions “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Northern Latgale” and “Northern Latgale for Latvian Independence”, the exhibition “Memorial Room of General Valdis Matīss (1944-2010)”, which introduces the Brigadier General Valdis Matīss, and “Balvi in Ancient Photographs”.

The museum hosts thematic exhibitions and events.

OFFER

Museum educational programmes

“Get to know Balvi” – the aim of the lesson is to learn about the history of Balvi, the most important cultural and historical objects of the town and the state protected cultural monuments in an interactive and engaging way. The lesson takes place in the city environment, the museum is the starting and ending point. Participants have access to 5 bags of the same content, which they receive at the museum. They contain a map of Balvi with numbers on it, copies of old photographs and a task sheet. Participants have to walk to all 13 points marked on the map and at each point they have to do the indicated task. After the walk through the town, the bags with all their contents must be returned to the museum staff.

The duration of the activity is approximately 2 hours. (for students and adults of all ages)

“What’s in the Museum’s Belly?” – Children are introduced to the museum and its main functions by answering the questions “What is a museum? What is a collection? What does a museum study?”(

“Mini and Know ” – the programme encourages the visitor to delve into the art, to notice the details. The opportunity is offered to search for details of objects or fragments of paintings in the museum with special cards. At the end, a guessing game about what you have seen in the museum (for pupils of different ages).

“In the footsteps of the Bear” – in the programme, children follow clues to search for the lost Bear. While searching for him, the children get to know his favourite places – the Balvi Bear Garden and the big Balvi Beech Tree, where the bear loves to hang out (for pre-school children and pupils of younger grades.)

“From the time of the manor…” – Visitors are introduced to the history of Balvi Manor and its inhabitants. Creative work – painting, cutting paper dolls. (For pre-school and junior school children, content varied for different age audiences).

The programmes will be supplemented with the annual customs, Latvian holidays and other events. For more information, please visit our website or facebook page.

PRICES

Admission to the museum’s exhibition and exposition halls:

• Adults EUR 3.00
• Schoolchildren, students, pensioners EUR 2.00
• Family ticket (1-2 adults with children up to 18 years of age) EUR 5.00
• Visit to one exhibition EUR 1.00
• Educational programmes included in the “Latvian School Bag” programme (per person) EUR 2.00

Free museum admission:

• Children up to 7 years of age (inclusive)
• Children in long-term social care and social rehabilitation
• Persons with 1., 2.
• For

persons with

• disabilities of the

1st or 2nd

• group and their accompanying persons
• Politically repressed persons
• Students of educational institutions of Balvi municipality
• Latvian museum employees
• ICOM (International Council of Museums) members
• Municipal delegations
• Visitors of exhibition openings and other free events organized by the museum

Excursions:

• Group tour for up to 10 persons – EUR 25.00
• Group tour for more than 10 persons (per person) – EUR 3.00

ADDITIONAL OFFER

There is a café in the basement of the museum.

Photos from the Balvi Museum archives.