Visit of Salaspils Memorial Ensemble

We honor tragic history by showing up and remembering. The holocaust is that time in Europe and tho difficult to digest, visiting these locations will help support generations to come to unearth these sites and preserving them. Thank you Latvia for doing so and thank you USA, whom I did not realize has poured money and governmental sponsorship. Next to Krista and Latvian Gem for the flexibility in personalizing and adding some other Jewish sites, including Riga Ghetto Museum, into this private tour. Your pre-tour communication was excellent. Viestur “Birch tree” was punctual polite, knowledgeable & flexible. He provided great insight also on how Latvians view the Holocaust, Russia, Israel and the USA; fascinating car discussions. Speaking of car, it was clean, spacious and safely driven! I’d say that Salsipas is more a memorial to the ethnic Latvians & other Eastern Europeans who died here whereas Rumblas was more Jewish-specific (bring bug spray); there’s absolutely no Rumblas signage from the main road which I think Latvia should correct! The Riga old Jewish cemetery is a pretty quick stop as is the Riga old city Shul, whereas the Riga Ghetto Museum could be a short or long stop. Recommend not just this tour but this tour company as they provide multiple other tours reviewed elsewhere. Bravo!

+4

In July 2025, I visited the memorials at Salaspils & Rumbula near Riga with Latvian Gem. I couldn't have asked for a better tour. First, these sites are a must-see if you're interested in the Holocaust, WWII, Soviet history, or Jewish history. Salaspils was a forced labor camp from late 1941 until Sept. 1944. Today, nothing of the camp remains because the Germans destroyed it as they retreated. However, the memorials are fantastic. They are dominated by a Soviet memorial (erected in 1967). An example of Soviet monumentalism at its best. Rumbula is a massacre site where the Germans and their collaborators killed 25,000 Jews in 2 days in late 1941. It is a quiet (if not neglected) memorial. Second, Krista with Latvian Gem was terrific -- accommodating, flexible, knowledgeable, and friendly. If I had been staying in Riga longer, I would have booked more tours with Latvian Gem. Excellent value for the price. Highly recommend!

+2

Spending one-on-one time with a geat guide who was.not only knowledgeable but caring. Highly recommend Kristine as a guide in Riga

We were delighted to be picked up from the gate where our ship docked. We were transported to the site and given information about the city of Riga and the Salaspils memorial site. We also had plenty of time left after our site visit so we were treated to a drive around the city and we were dropped of down town. Would recommend this company and this site to others interested in Riga's History. Its not a place that would usually be on a tour.

Outstanding tour if you have an interest in WWII history. Krista is very pleasant and is an excellent guide. She was very knowledgeable about the camp at Salaspils, but also provided a lot of insight about Soviet Union times in Latvia. In addition, she provided us with suggestions of other sights to visit in Latvia, which we did and thoroughly enjoyed. To my surprise, there was too much to see in this beautiful country for the short time we were there. Definitely plan to return, and will definitely book another tour with Krista!

Krista was fantastic, very pleasant and knowledgeable about Salaspils, the monument and overall general knowledge about Soviet Union times. Great short tour if you’re interested in history. Moreover, Krista gave us several recommendations for other trips and sights to see/do in Latvia. Would absolutely book a tour with her again! Thanks!

Took a tour to this location recently. Guide was well informed and provided us enough time to take it in and reflect on what happened here

Our guide Armands was very knowledgeable and entertaining, he showed us more that we expected to see and really focused on our areas of interest

Krista is an excellent tour guide, very knowledgeable and kind when guiding me through these sites of the bleaker parts of Latvian history. I learned a lot about other aspects of Latvian history as well and I'm grateful for Krista's insights. I'm looking forward to doing more tours with Krista as a guide the next time I will visit Latvia.

Me and my partner visited Latvia at the weekend and were greeted by the lovely Krista who helped us have the most incredible day with our husky experience and the memorial tour! She was so friendly and had so much knowledge to share. We couldn't recommend one of her tours more highly! - Thank you again.