Smiltene Museum to Host Seminar on Cemetery Culture and Historical Heritage
A seminar on preserving historic cemeteries and burial vaults will take place on 12 November at the Smiltene Municipality Museum in Mēri Manor. Participation is free of charge.
On 12 November 2026, starting at 11:30, the Smiltene Municipality Museum at Mēri Manor in Bilska Parish, Smiltene Municipality, will host a seminar titled "ARCHITECTURE OF SILENCE. Sustaining Memory and Historical Heritage in Cemetery Culture". Researchers and enthusiasts of Latvia's cultural and historical heritage will gather to discuss the特 features of the country's cemetery culture and look for ways to preserve historic cemeteries and burial vaults. Participation is free.
Three main themes
The seminar covers the culture and heritage of historic cemeteries, the philosophy of maintaining memory, and practical heritage preservation. Cemetery culture will be examined from the perspectives of history, architecture and cultural heritage.
The event is jointly organised by the Smiltene Municipality Museum and the like-minded group "Friends of Riga's Great Cemetery Movement". Art historian Imants Lancmanis will greet participants online with opening remarks.
Speakers
Roberts Grinbergs, president of the Latvian Association of Castles and Manors, will speak about the burial vaults of the Kurland barons von Behr in Zlēkas Church. Historian Gundars Kalniņš will describe the work done to identify the value of Cēsis's historic cemetery and restore it. Cultural heritage enthusiasts Nils Treijs and Daina Ozola will talk about the history of cemeteries and burial vaults in the Gulbene, Tirza and Velēna areas.
Rita Eva Našeniece, a representative of the research group of the "Friends of the Great Cemetery" movement, will present the latest discoveries at Riga's Great Cemetery and their modern digital reconstruction. Ieva Miķe, head of the Smiltene Municipality Museum, will discuss Smiltene's cemeteries as a book of living history within the town's cultural and historical heritage.
Practical information
Participants are invited to arrive and register from 11:30; the seminar begins at 11:55. At the end, attendees will be able to take a guided tour of the museum's exhibitions and see the museum's home, the Mēri Manor building. Interested people and media representatives are welcome in Mēri.
