Nordic – Baltic Road Museums Ladies and gentlemen my name is Indra Dziedātāja. I work in the Latvia Road Museum as a curator for 10 years. My task today is to tell you about the Road Museum cooperation in the Nordic and Baltic states. Indra Dziedātāja Latvian Road Museum 23.08.2009.

Cooperation between the Museums The cooperation network of the Nordic and Baltic national road museums was established in 2002 The Nordic countries: Finland Sweden Norway Denmark Iceland The Baltic States: Lithuania Estonia Latvia According to the initiative of the management of Nordic and Baltic Road Associations a cooperation network of the Nordic and Baltic national road museums was established in 2002. The Nordic countries are represented in the network by Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, and the Baltic states by Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.

Cooperation between the Museums The cooperation agreement between the members of Road Museums was signed in September 2004. The Agreement between the members of the road museums was signed on September 2004

Cooperation between the Museums The Agreement fixed the aim of the cooperation: to promote studying, exhibiting and preserving road and bridge history in the Nordic and Baltic countries and to strengthen the position of the road museums as knowledge centres for road history research and also as valuable tourist attraction The Agreement fixed the aim of the cooperation: to promote studying, exhibiting and preserving road and bridge history in the Nordic and Baltic countries and to strengthen the position of road museums as knowledge centres for road history research and also as valuable tourist attraction. This means, for example, seeking for common marketing activities as well as for integrated use of historical material and exhibitions. A good example of the cooperation were common posters in the 20th Congress of Nordic Road Association - Via Nordica 2008. It was held in Helsinki Fair Centre on the 9th-11th June 2008. The posters showed the basic information about cooperation and each of museums – where the museums are situated, their missions and essential future plans.

Cooperation between the Museums Within the framework we have annual seminars in one of the member countries. In the seminars the participants present their reports about topical questions and news in each of musems. We also have professional discussions. It is a very good possibility to get to know the Road Museum of host country – its financial situation, structure, exhibitions, storages and libraries. This year the seminar will be held in Lithuania. Within road museum framework we have annual seminars in one of the member countries

General Museum Mission to collect, preserve, research, exibit and popularize the tangible and intangible heritage of road building history The common mission of the Nordic-Baltic Road Museums is to collect, preserve, research, exhibit and popularize the tangible an intangible heritage of road building history in their countries.

Museum Collection: Tangible Heritage The collections include: machinery and tools, road pavement examples, sledges and carriages, maps, documents, publications, photos, etc. The collections includes: technical qualities of road network - machinery and tools, road pavement examples, sledges and carriages, maps, documents, publications, photos, etc. All these things are related to tangible heritage of road and bridge building history.

Museum Collection: Intangible Heritage The collections include: films, sound records, written memories of road workers A very important part of our collections are films, sound records, written memories of road workers, which carry the information about the experience and the traditions of road specialists in their professional life. For example - in Latvia we have annual Tourism gathering of road workers, which has held since 1967. So, now this tradition is 42 years old.

Museum Collection: Objects in-situ The collection includes: museum roads; bridges, situated throughout the country Some of the museums have step out of the walls of the museum building. For example, in Finland, there are 59 museum roads and bridges situated throughout the country and maintained by Finnish Road Administration. As I know the same selection of historical monuments related to road and bridge history in the country is done in Norway and Sweden. Our colleagues from Estonia think about this matter as well. For example Road - Porras – Renko road in Finland was linking Turku Castle and Häme Castle in middle ages at least since 16-th century. It served as the main road until 1961.

Activities in Museums Blacksmith’s forge in Norwegian Road Museum Besides the collection work and exhibitions, the museums provide various activities in their premises. In the Norwegian Road Museum ,for example, visitors can take a tour in a horse-drawn cart, loan a pedal car or visit a blacksmith’s forge during the summer season.

Activities in Museums Many of museums also offer conference services or rent their rooms or territory for different kind of festivities and occasions. Here you can see the gathering of ancient cars and trucks in Latvian Road Museum.

Activities in Museums Outdoor traffic park for children in Finnish Road Museum Families and schools are appreciated visitor groups for the museums, One part of the museum role is to educate children on traffic safety for example by organizing workshops, showing multimedia performances or teaching them traffic regulations in an outdoor traffic park with traffic signs and pedal cars.

Benefits of Co-operation: Support museums in their aim to learn from each other and obtain the new ideas; Exchanging of experience and information, thus enlarging the theoretical and practical knowledge and improving the professional skills; Support to museums in fulfilling their role as keepers of technical heritage by promoting their importance; Better understanding of museum work and facilities, which helps to integrate new knowledge in every day work. Improvement of museum operation standarts expressed in professional documentation, new research, state of the art displays, interesting programmes and events. What are the benefits of the cooperation between our Road museums? Support museums in their aim to learn from each other and obtain the new ideas. It helps in exchanging of experience and information, in that way enlarging the theoretical and practical knowledgesand improving the professional skills of our staff. We can get to know every of the Road Museums better; it supports museums in fulfilling their role as keepers of technical heritage by promoting their importance. We have better understanding of museum work and facilities, which helps to integrate new knowledge in our every day work. By the cooperaton we rise up museum operation standarts expressed in professional documentation, new research, state of the art displays, interesting programmes and events.

Conclusion Each museum is different, with diverse background and its own history and quality, but we are united by the same mission of preserving, researching and exhibiting the road history and also by the same every-day work. This partnership is significant for us as the specialists, as there is only one technical museum of such kind in our native countries. At the end of my presentation I would like to say that: Each museum is different, with different background and its own history and quality, but we are united by the same mission of preserving and researching road history and our every day work. This partnership is significant for us as specialists, as we come from the only museum of such kind of museums in each of our native countries.

Websites: Automobile and Road Museum Mobilia, Finland www.mobilia.fi Swedish Road Museum Pylonen www.vv.se/museum Norvegian Road Museum www.vegmuseum.com Danish Road and Bridge Museum www.vejogbro.dk Icelandic Road Museum www.skogasafn.is Estonian Road Museum http://muuseum.mnt.ee/ Latvian Road Museum www.lvceli.lv Lithuanian Road Museum www.lra.lt

You are welcome to Latvia Road Museum in Šlokenbeka Manor!