Museum Night invites you to visit the largest Baroque pearl in the Baltics - Jelgava Palace.
Marking the 285th anniversary of Jelgava Palace and European Museum Night, on May 13th from 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm, the doors of the renovated Jelgava Palace (2 Lielā Street, Jelgava) will traditionally be open to visitors and offer a program of cultural and educational activities titled "Jelgava Palace - Jelgava's heart for 285 years", where everyone, both big and small, can find activities of interest.
Visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy both the long-established and recognizable traditions of Jelgava Palace Museum Night, as well as new activities, some of which are created by the current owner of the palace - the Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU, previously LLU) students and faculty.
Starting at 4:00 pm, the LBTU hall will belong to the dancers. LBTU folk dance ensemble "Kalve" together with friends from the mid-generation dance collective "Mārupieši" and senior dance collective "Klasesbiedri" will celebrate choreographer Guntas Skujas anniversary in the concert "Ej un dedz..." (tickets available in advance at "Biļešu paradīze" box office, price - 7 euros).
From 8:00 pm, Jelgava City Creativity Center "Junda" invites visitors to enjoy Latvian folk dances performed by the folk dance ensemble "Jundēni", "Jundari", "Mazie Jundari" (conducted by Madlēna Bratkus) in the concert "Danču jandāls pilī".
From 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, we will also offer creative workshops "Flower painting with balloons" for young visitors of Jelgava Palace.
Also, from 7:00 pm, culture enthusiasts will be able to visit the exhibition "Fragments of Renaissance Time Gardens in the History of Architecture and Landscape Art" at Jelgava Palace Museum, created by 1st-year students of the LBTU study program "Landscape Architecture and Planning". Additionally, the Vitae Viese painting exhibition "My Colors of the Day" will be available in the LBTU hall's foyer, featuring oil paintings of cityscapes and natural landscapes, but mostly flowers.
From 9:00 pm, we invite guests who want to listen to inspiring and educational stories to the Silver Hall. In the Inspiration Room, LBTU Faculty of Food Technology Professor and Leading Researcher Daiga Kunkulberga will share stories about "Bread Diversity", Imants Missa, a guest lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Agriculture, will talk about "Knives for Garlic," and Armands Celms, LBTU Faculty of Environment and Civil Engineering Professor and Leading Researcher, will speak about "Changes in the Floor Level of Lielupe and the Old Jelgava Palace Cellar".
Furthermore, on May 13th from 12:00 to 16:00, the "Sajūti LaBiTeU" Open Doors Day festival will take place at Jelgava Palace (Lielā street 2, Jelgava), organized by the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU, formerly known as LLU). This will be a special opportunity for prospective students to get acquainted with the university, its study programs, as well as participate in various informative and entertaining activities.
It should be noted that on June 14th, 2023, it will be 285 years since the foundation stone of Jelgava Palace was laid. Jelgava Palace is the largest architectural monument in the Baltic States. The baroque gem was once the residence of the dukes of Courland and Semigallia, later the administrative center of Courland Governorate, and today it is the home of the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU), designed by architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
Jelgava Palace is open every year during the Museum Night. However, visitors are also invited to visit it on other days. During the summer season, which starts on June 1st, the palace museum will be open to visitors on both weekdays and weekends. For more information, please visit http://jelgavaspils.lv/muzejs.