The Churches and Cathedrals of Riga, Latvia
The Occupation Museum and House of the Blackheads are also in Riga
The Dome Cathedral in Riga is the largest Cathedral in the Baltic countries. The Renaissance gables and a Baroque Belfry give the visitor the impression of a cathedral that has been much added to over the centuries.
The highlight of the austere Lutheran interior is the vast organ with its 6718 (or 6768) pipes that made it the largest in the world when it was finished in 1884. Outside, the tower built in 1776 reaches 90 metres in height though this is far shorter than its predecessor, which soared to 140 metres when erected in 1547.
St Peter’s Church Spire - the Symbol of Riga
Two hundred metres to the south-east, the 123-metre high, three-tiered spire of St Peter’s Church is the undoubted symbol of Riga. This brick-built church dates from the early 15th Century though the spire dates from just after WWII, German shelling having destroyed the previous wooden spire in 1941.
Much of the interior decoration was destroyed by rioting Protestants in the early 1500s.
Heading away from the church, the visitor comes to the Town Hall Square, which contains arguably the most beautiful buildings in the Old Town. They are a complete reconstruction of the House of the Blackheads, which was demolished by the Soviet authorities just after WWII.
The House of the Blackheads, Riga
The buildings were completed in 2001 and their vibrant cleanliness is a joy to behold. Facing the front of the House of the Blackheads, the original building on the right dated from the 1300s, whereas the original building on the left dated from the 1890s.
The House of the Blackheads was originally used by a number of Hanseatic guilds, but became best known for being the headquarters of the Blackheads, a group of merchants whose patron was the Roman warrior-saint Maurice, who was originally from North Africa.
The Occupation Museum in Riga, Latvia
Nearby is the ugly Museum of Latvia’s Occupation. This museum catalogues Latvia’s occupation by the Nazis (1941 – 1944) and Soviet Union (1940 – 1941 and 1944 – 1989). There is a similar museum in Tallinn, Estonia.
As with many ethnic groups, Stalin tried to destroy the Latvian identity by banishing large numbers of them to Siberia. There were two waves of entirely at random expulsions at the beginning and end of the 1940s, the effects of which are graphically illustrated.
The nearby St.John's Church was originally built in the grounds of a Dominican monastery. After the Dominicans were expelled during the Reformation, the church was used as a stable and as a weapons workshop.
According to a local myth, before the Dominicans left, two monks were voluntarily immured in the southern façade, inside the church, in a desperate attempt to impress The Pope, so that he would canonize them.
A cruciform aperture in the wall marks the place where food and drink were passed to the monks, whose attempt for sainthood failed as The Pope deemed their escapade to be self-serving and not worthy of a saint.
St John's Church interior
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