The museum “Jews in Latvia” was established in 1989 to research, popularize and commemorate the history of Latvia's Jewish community. The museum's exhibition is housed in three halls in the historical building of former Jewish theatre.
The visitors of the museum can get acquainted with different aspects of Latvian Jewish history and culture from the beginnings in XVI century and to 1945 – legal status and economic activities, education and religion, political and intellectual pursuits. The special section is dedicated to Holocaust and rescuing of the Jews in Nazi-occupied Latvia.
In the collection of the museum are stored close to 14,000 units – documents, photos, books and artifacts. Of special interest is wide range of XIX-XX century memoirs, the rich collection of family photos, as well as printed materials of different Jewish organizations from interwar era.
We will be grateful for help provided in broadening the collection of the museum with the documents and photos from your private archives and family albums.
References:Manarola is a small town, a frazione of the comune of Riomaggiore. It is the second-smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns frequented by tourists, with a population of 353.
Manarola may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terre, with the cornerstone of the church, San Lorenzo, dating from 1338. The local dialect is Manarolese, which is marginally different from the dialects in the nearby area. The name 'Manarola' is probably a dialectical evolution of the Latin, 'magna rota'. In the Manarolese dialect this was changed to 'magna roea' which means 'large wheel', in reference to the mill wheel in the town.
Manarola's primary industries have traditionally been fishing and wine-making. The local wine, called Sciacchetrà, is especially renowned; references from Roman writings mention the high quality of the wine produced in the region.