Collection

We are the custodians of nationally significant heritage in Latvian literature, theatre, and music. Our collection holds more than one million items: documents, photographs, printed materials, correspondence, artworks, sound recordings, and memorial objects. These are mainly organised into personal, organisational, and thematic collections.

The collection is an inspiring and inexhaustible source for exploring the personalities of authors, their relationships, and the inner workings of their creative fields. It also serves as a valuable resource for cultural and historical insight.

The collection is accessible to all visitors—through our exhibitions and displays, the Object of the Month feature on our website and social media, virtual exhibitions, and for in-depth research, in our Reading Room.

Collection resources in the digital environment:

• National Museum Collection Joint Catalogue – https://www.nmkk.lv/
• “Personu un vietu attēlu datu bāze” – a visual database of people and places significant to Latvian cultural history: photographs and drawings of scientists, politicians, cultural, educational and economic figures, towns and settlements. Joint project of the museum and the Academic Library of Latvia: https://www.acadlib.lu.lv/
• “Rainis un Aspazija” – 395 letters from the poets’ correspondence. National Library of Latvia digital collection: https://runa.lnb.lv/
• “Dziesmu svētku krātuve” – more than one hundred collection items. National Library of Latvia digital collection: https://dziesmusvetki.lndb.lv/
• “Latvijas vēsturiskie skaņu ieraksti” – documenting musical life in Latvia in the first half of the 20th century across various genres. National Library of Latvia digital collection: https://audio.lndb.lv/
• “Latvijas Nacionālā bibliotēka. Digitālā bibliotēka” – more than 250 sound recordings: https://lndb.lv/
• “Latvijas Nacionālā bibliotēka. Digitālā bibliotēka” – more than 250 sound recordings, collection Latvijas muzeju teksta dokumenti: http://www.lndb.lv/