This free museum provides a lot of interesting history to those who like reading (sometimes quite wordy) placards, and some of the weapons and the like were neat. We could have spent more time here and learned quite a bit, but unfortunately, the children's area (that we had read about beforehand) was closed due to Covid... Still? It's 2023... Kind of a bummer. The woman working the front desk was very nice and helpful, though.

Free to enter and gives a good rundown of wars since the 1600s, including the Swedish wars. The largest room is on WW1 and covers how the war eventually led to independence. Not much on ww2 sadly.

A very good museum to visit if you are interested in history seen through the times of war. The last 1.000 years+ are well described. Not too much - not too little. My main frustration was poor descriptions in other languages than Latvian. The museum would be really a lot more interesting if they had their descriptions translated into other languages. Eventually, as audio guides or via smartphones and qr-codes.

I happened to stumble upon this gem of a museum on my last full day in Riga, and I am so grateful that I did. The first thing that "greeted" me upon my entrance, was a worn down, bombed out vehicle, which on my very first notice looked like something archaic from the world wars or, at most recent, the cold war. However, after a few seconds, it became apparent that it was destroyed mere months ago in the battles of Bakhmut, Ukraine. And so begins the entrance to this incredibly informative war museum. The history that is depicted in this museum, reaches back from the Middle Ages until - quite literally - today. Many of the exhibitions are described in only Latvian or Russian, which can be confusing for those who don't speak either (like myself), but there are brochures in English by almost each and every exhibition, so you should be fine. Additionally, the artifacts and pieces are so detailed and well put together, that you manage to get a general gist even without speaking the language. This is definitely a very informative, generic war museum, but what impressed me was the heart of it, and the fact that it tells our common history as it is being written. Its focus on Ukraine was incredibly moving and something none of us can afford to forget about for even a second. Additionally, the staff here was very friendly and accommodating, and the entrance was free, which was naturally a plus. I recommend every one who visits Riga, to drop by this museum.

Really good free military/history museum located partly in the Powder Tower. Lots of exhibits, there is an impressive room dedicated to Ukraine forces, with a captured Russian drone and photos/ details of some personnel. At the entrance there is a wrecked Ukraine 4WD vehicle, having been shot up by Russian troops. The WW1 period is well covered with Latvian/English text, but later inter war and WW2 period has the odd A4 sheet in English and although you get the general gist of the displays, it could be improved as with the independence computer displays. Found a good Konditorei shop across the road, with slabs of good cake for €3-4 and decent coffee.

It was a rainy day in central Riga, so initially we needed to keep out of the rain so after coming out of a nearby cafe we went in this museum which was free. Had about 1 hour walking around this biggish museum but could have spent longer as we enjoyed reading about the local history right upto recent events in the Russian Ukraine war which was a bit upsetting. Lots of exhibits and historical info making this a good place to visit for a few hours.

This museum has some interesting artifacts from various wars Latvia participated in including WWI and WWII. It was free which definitely gives it an extra star for the rating. If you have the time and interest it is worth seeing. If you aren't in town long and don't have a lot of interest then there are plenty of other places to go.