Palmu māja, University of Latvia Botanical Garden

The University of Latvia Botanical Garden, the oldest in the country, was founded in 1922 in Dreiliņi and moved in 1926 to the grounds of the former Volfšmits manor in Riga. Its palm house dates from the interwar years: the greenhouse complex opened in 1928 or the palm house was built in the 1930s. At first it stood only 9 metres high, and it was raised to 12 metres when the great fig planted in its early days reached the roof.

In 1939 the composer Jāzeps Vītols gave the garden a palm from his own collection. By the late 1960s the fig had hit the ceiling once more, so a new, far taller building was put up and opened in 1972; it was then that the house reached its present size of 24 metres in height and 550 square metres in area.

Over the decades the structure deteriorated until it could no longer hold a steady temperature or keep out roof leaks. Closed for five years, first by pandemic restrictions and then by building work, the Palmu māja underwent a renovation costing around €1.5 million that entirely renewed its frame and glazing. It reopened to the public on 22 December 2025, billed by its managers as the largest and most modern tropical plant complex in the Baltic states.

At 24 metres, the Palmu māja is described as the tallest glasshouse in the Baltics, with a footprint of 550 square metres. The renovation completed in 2025 fully renewed the load-bearing frame and glazing structures, along with the walls and roof covering.

The building services were replaced: heating, misting, supplementary lighting and air exchange, all run by an automated climate system that monitors conditions continuously. Ventilation works on two levels, with self-opening roof lights, and grow lamps top up daylight when it falls short. Heated gutters collect rainwater all year round for irrigation. The project also aimed at energy efficiency, better working conditions for staff and lower CO2 emissions.

The collection brings together 286 subtropical and tropical species and 116 cultivars from Australia, Africa, the Mediterranean, China, Japan, the Middle East and South America. It includes 25 species and varieties of palm and more than ten species on the IUCN Red List.

The palm given by Jāzeps Vītols, a kentia (Howea forsteriana), was 2 metres tall when it arrived and now exceeds 12 metres. The great broad-leaved fig is approaching its centenary. A Strelitzia nicolai grown from seed in the mid-20th century reaches 6 metres and flowers alongside Strelitzia reginae, while Brunfelsia and dwarf palms are among the other blooms noted.

The garden covers some fifteen hectares of open ground and holds around 6,000 plants. The Palmu māja can be seen together with the other glasshouses and, in the warmer months, the Tropical Butterfly House.

The palm house offers a warm refuge in the long Latvian winter, and late winter into spring — February and March above all — is when most of its plants flower. In April the magnolias and lilacs outside extend the visit. Guided tours are offered in Latvian, English and Russian.