In 2004 a new permanent exhibition “Ogre – a Water and Air Resort” was opened at the museum. Ogre is one of the few towns in Latvia that started its development as a health resort and rest area. It flourished in the 20's and 30's of the previous century, therefore the exhibition mostly reflects the mentioned period of time focusing on recreation, entertainment and sporting activities.
The origin of Ogre dates back to 1961 when a railway line Riga – Dinaburga was opened. The picturesque vicinity of Ogre surrounded by forests, hills and rivers rapidly turned into a rest area popular with the wealthy from Riga. The new health resort was opened in 1962. Before World War I there were 300 summer homes in Ogre. In 1928 Ogre was granted the rights of a town. The number of permanent residents reached to approximately two thousand but in summers the population exceeded three thousand. The architecture of the town mainly consisted of wooden summer cottages built in the 20 – 30's of the 20th century, many of them designed by famous Latvian architects.
Due to the beautiful nature and the healthy climate in 1920 – 1930's the provincial town Ogre became a popular recreation place both in summer and winter. The holiday-makers could take advantage of three places for swimming, a boat pier, sports grounds, three sanatoriums, hotels and boarding houses, a water resort, skiing tracks and ski-jumps in Zilie kalni (the Blue Hills). In summer the town parks turned into the venues for different leisure opportunities, such as open-air theatre performances, concerts, balls, children’s festivities, sports competitions, etc. The cafes and restaurants offered the visitors lively social life in the evenings. Those longing for peace and silence could enjoy the quiet atmosphere of their summer cottages. Ogre was a rest area very popular with the Latvian intellectuals. Many celebrities of that time used to spend their summers there.
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