Anatomy Museum voted RSU Structural Unit of the Year 2023

This year, two structural units at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) received the same number of votes from the University’s employees and students voting in the Annual Awards – the Medical Education Technology Centre (METC) and the Anatomy Museum. Both received the award for Structural Unit of the Year. 

The Anatomy Museum received the RSU Annual Award 2023 for getting RSU into the list of the world’s best medical museums, raising the bar of excellence of the University, and for the way it combines art, research and history in such an outstanding way as to attract the interest of the general public.

The museum’s collection consists of a teaching collection, which was created mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, and includes not only wet and dry preparations, but also documents and photographs.

‘We have always wanted to build the museum as a place that embraces diversity.

So far, we have welcomed researchers, medical historians, students, musicians, and artists!’ says Rūta Žiaugre, the Museum’s Education Project Manager in the video from 2022.

Video about the Anatomy Museum (with subtitles), 2022

In 2023, the Anatomy Museum received special recognition from the Council of Europe and was included among the 33 best newly opened museums in Europe in 2023.

The exhibition Viewpoints: On Illusions, Perception and Why We See the World Differently was open from 30 March to 30 April during During Open Science Month at the RSU Anatomy Museum. The exhibition featured optical illusions by Italian scientist Baingio Pinna and Japanese scientist Akiyoshi Kitaoka and visitors were able to attend popular science lectures and workshops on topics related to illusions, perception, and why we each see the world differently.

RSU Rector Prof. Aigars Pētersons presented a Certificate of Appreciation in the Structural Unit of the Year category to Kaspars Zaltāns (right), Education Project Manager at the RSU Anatomy Museum. The Awards Ceremony took place at the RSU Academic Ball on 9 September 2023 at the Riga Latvian Society House

In August, the sketching and music festival saMAŅA: ANATOMIJA took place, which included the first Anatomy Museum Market Day, the premiere of the cyclical composition "Anatomy" and much more.

In addition to the museum’s public programme, work was carried out to expand the museum's exhibition. Part of Prof. Arthur von Hochstetter’s (1918–1997) historical collection, which is stored in Basel (Switzerland), was brought back to Riga in 2022 with the support of Hoffmann-La Roche. The RSU Anatomy Museum took over 35 historical specimens from the 18th and 19th centuries. This year, the newly acquired specimens were restored and prepared for display. The collection is expected to be open to the public in 2024.

About the RSU Anatomy Museum

• Address: 9 Kronvalda bulvāris
• Number of employees: five
• Head: Assist. Prof. Ieva Lībiete
• Open to visitors since 16 June 2021
• It took five years to establish the museum. The historic 19th-century stable building, located in the courtyard of the RSU Anatomical Theatre, was completely rebuilt and specially adapted for the museum.
• The Anatomy Museum is a structural unit of the RSU Institute of the History of Medicine.
• Official website: RSU Anatomy Museum

RSU Structural Unit of the Year 2023 – the Medical Education Technology Centre