Description of the attraction
St. Peter's Church is a unique symbol and one of the main attractions of the city of Riga (Latvia). This outstanding piece of architecture was first mentioned in 1209. The church is known for its extraordinary spire, the height of which is 64.5 meters with a total height of the church tower of 123.5 meters.
The Church of St. Peter was erected as a folk church. It, in spite of the Dome Cathedral, which was built by the authorities of Riga, was erected with funds collected from artisans, merchants and even ordinary peasants. At the same time, St. Peter's Church was the main religious building of the privileged stratum of the population in feudal Riga. One of the oldest schools in the city worked at the temple.
The temple was built in the Gothic style. Initially, the premises were not very large. It was planned to build an ordinary church. But at the beginning of the 15th century, a new altar part of the building and a bell tower in the Gothic style were erected. Later, in the 17th century, decorated baroque portals were erected, and the church got a spire, which we can still observe today.
The spire of St. Peter's Church is the most recognizable part of it and an integral part of the panorama of the city of Riga.
In the 13th century, the tower of the temple may have been a free-standing building. For the first time, as part of the church, the tower was built at the end of the 15th century. It was then that an octagonal spire of wood was erected, which stood for almost two hundred years. In the middle of the 17th century, the aged spire collapsed. One of the houses was damaged and eight people died. The spire was rebuilt the following year, but burned down 10 years later. In 1690, the spire was rebuilt. It is interesting that for a long time this spire was the tallest spire made of wood in Europe, the height of which is 64.5 meters with a total height of the church tower of 123.5 meters.
In 1721, lightning struck the tower of St. Peter's Church. A fire broke out. The Russian emperor Peter I, who was in Riga at that time, took part in extinguishing it. Unfortunately, the fire could not be extinguished. The spire was almost completely burnt out and collapsed. Fortunately, the burning spire did not collapse on the city, but "folded into itself." This did not cause unnecessary damage. According to legend, the prayers of Peter I helped. In the same year, Peter I ordered to recreate the spire by his decree. The work was completed only two decades later - in 1741. The reconstructed spire existed for exactly two centuries and was destroyed on the day of commemoration of St. Peter (according to the Gregorian calendar). The church was badly damaged during the Second World War. The building was destroyed for a long time. And only in 1966 it was restored. The construction of the spire was completed only in 1973. The shapes and sizes of the new spire completely repeated the previous one. But it was made of metal. The spire now has two observation platforms at a height of 57 and 71 meters. And for the convenience of visitors, an elevator and reinforced concrete stairs were installed.
Today, the viewing platforms of the Church of St. Peter are especially popular among tourists and guests of the city, and the spire itself is depicted in many photographs and souvenirs.
