The bridge was built in 1906. Part of it was blown up during World War I and later restored. During the Soviet occupation, one needed special permits to cross the bridge. Military ships and other vessels used the canal, because one of the largest military bases in the USSR was sited here. In the summer of 2006, one month before the bridge’s centenary, a Georgian-flagged tanker, the Anna, rammed into the northern support structure of the bridge, and that destroyed the bridge’s turning part beyond recognition. The bridge was renovated and reopened in 2009. You can look at the bridge and cross it at any time.This is a unique engineering monument, and it is the only drawbridge of its kind in the Baltic States. It takes just five minutes to turn the two parts of the bridge.

This collection contains bicycles from five different armies and five different eras in the history of Latvia. They include a World War I bicycle from the Russian Empire, a bicycle from the Latvian army, two World War II German bicycles, and a Monark-brand military bicycle from Sweden that was donated to the renewed Latvian army in the 1990s. The exhibition also features items that are related to the use of military bicycles – seals, awards, and information about the bicycle units of Latvia’s Home Guard. This is the only bicycle museum in Latvia, and its exhibits are unique, as well.