The Rainis Museum “Jasmuiža”

Aizkalne, Preiļu novads

The only Rainis museum in Latgale offers a look at the environment in which the poet spent summers while he was a high school and university student.  You can also learn about the first love that Rainis experienced.  See Andrejs Paulāns reconstructed the workshop, which includes a kiln.  An ornate collection of Lettigalian ceramics can be viewed in the exhibition hall.  The buildings of the Jasmuiža Estate are in a quiet little corner of the countryside and on the banks of the little Jaša River.  The museum buildings together with the open-air stage and the more than 5 hectares of surrounding territory and park make up the complex that is a historical monument of national value.

“Jasmuiža” is one of the Rainis and Aspazija museums, and among other museums devoted to the poet’s commemoration is the fact that this was where Rainis spent his youth.  From 1883 until 1891, the future poet spent summers there while he was a high school and university student.  That was because the estate was leased and managed by his father, Krišjānis Pliekšāns.

The reconstructed house of the manor’s steward now features an exhibition about the poet’s life as a high school and university student.  “Jasmuiža” is dedicated to the romance and love of a young man.  This is where Rainis fell in love for the first time.  The cattle shed of the estate now has an exhibition hall which features Lettigalian ceramics.  There are more than 200 dishes and examples of decorative ceramics there.  The workshop and kiln of Andrejs Paulāns, in turn, allows visitors to learn about the environment in which Lettigalian ceramicists lived and worked in the late 19th and early 20th century.  The museum offers events related to the opening of the season, the firing and opening of the kiln, annual poetry day events, as well as regularly scheduled exhibitions which speak to the achievements of folk craftsmanship and the heritage which Rainis left behind.

 

Adults: EUR 2
Schoolchildren, students and seniors: EUR 1
Family tickets (1-2 adults with 1-4 children up to the age of 18): EUR 3
Tours in Latvian: EUR 5
Tours in Russian or English: EUR 7
Audio or audiovisual guide: EUR 3
The museum can be visited free of charge on Rainis’ birthday on September 11, on the last Saturday of each month, on International Museum Day on May 18, and the international “European Museum Night” event from 7:00 PM.

Free admission.

Opening hours

We–Su
10–17
Mo–Tu
Closed

The museum is open from May 1 until October 31

The Rainis Museum “Jasmuiža”

Solvita Kleinarte
Deputy director of the Rainis and Aspazija Museum
jasmuiza@memorialiemuzeji.lv