The museum is located in a former building of the Seminary for Vidzeme Parish Schoolteachers that operated between 1853 and 1890. Here, Latvian and Estonian students learnt such professions as parish schoolteacher, assistant priest and organist. Since its foundation in 1839 and right until his death the seminary was managed by Latvian educator, founder of the choir singing tradition, Jānis Cimze. After the seminary was closed, for 80 years the building served different educational, cultural and public purposes. After the partition of Valka (1920), it was used by the State Secondary School of Valka, the local healthcare facility of the Latvian Red Cross, the Museum of the 7th Valka Regiment of the National Guard, etc.

The museum offers two permanent displays: “The Cultural and Educational Legacy of the Seminary for Vidzeme Parish Schoolteachers and Its Students during Mid-19th to Early 20th Century” and “Valka: The Cradle of Latvia’s Independence”.