Riga Jewish Community

The Riga Jewish Community has celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2008. After the Holocaust terror and, in 1988, the Latvian Jewish Culture Community (LJCC) was founded. In 1992 LJCC was reorganized into the Riga Jewish Community, which, nowadays, is the biggest in the Baltics and numbers about 8 thousands members.
The Riga Jewish Community house on Skolas street 6 is the centre of Jewish life in Riga. Various Jewish organizations, creative groups, clubs and studios work in the community house; museum “Jews in Latvia”, library, youth and community centers are located here. Social centre provides aid to low-income members of the community. Different educational and culture programmes, concerts, performances, exhibitions take place within the house; Jewish holidays are celebrated. Riga Jewish Community pays special attention to persevering and popularizing Jewish culture heritage.

The chairman of Riga Jewish Community – Arkady Suharenko

Contacts:

Skolas street 6
Riga, LV-1010
Phone/fax (+371) 67-285-601
secretary@lvjewish.lv

The building was designed by the famous architects Edmund Trompovskij and Paul Mandelstam and erected in 1913-1914.
The building was reconstructed to meet the needs of the Jewish theatre actors, who started performing here in 1926. Various Jewish civic organisations and a Jewish library functioned in the building, which also accommodated Jewish holiday celebrations, weddings, lectures, concerts and meetings.
In 1941-1944, during Nazi occupation, German officer club was housed in the building.
During the Soviet time, the House of Political Enlightenment was located here; various ideological events were held here.
The historical building of the Jewish Theatre has been returned to the Riga Jewish Community in the early 1990s.  This building is a monument of architecture, which is protected by Latvian goverment.