Description of the attraction
Cathedral of St. James is the main Catholic church in Latvia, the fourth largest church in Riga. The cathedral. St. James is a brick Gothic monument. The first mention of the church, located on the site of the current cathedral, dates back to 1225. This date, engraved on the central western façade of the church, is believed to be the presumable year of the construction of the church of St. James.
During the reformation period in 1552, the parishioners took the risk of holding the first Lutheran-style service in the history of Riga in this church. In 1524, during the peak of anti-Catholic unrest, the Church of St. James, like most of the Catholic churches in the city, was destroyed, which resulted in the almost complete destruction of the interior.
During the siege of the city by the Russian troops of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, several shells hit the Church of St. James. Two of them, in memory of the siege of Riga, were walled up in the walls of the central facade, and two more - in the altar part.
Throughout its history, the church has changed its religion several times and was partially rebuilt. In 1756, a pointed spire in the shape of an octahedron was added to the main building of the church. In 1782 a new central portal was built. Since 1923, the Church of St. James again belongs to the Catholic faith.
The height of the church tower, including the spire, is 80 meters. In the interiors, you can see the floral ornament that adorns the capitals in the choir of the church. This type of ornament is rare for the church canon of Gothic sculptural decoration. Initially, the church was of a hall type, today it is a three-aisled structure, 27 by 50 meters in plan. In general, the interior of the church is quite simple and laconic, which, incidentally, corresponds to the design concept of Catholic sacred structures. In 1736, a traditional cock-shaped weather vane was placed on the spire of the church tower, which we can still see today.
In 1680, an altar was created in the church, which at the time was the main royal Lutheran church. It is believed to be the earliest baroque altar in Latvia. Who is the creator of this altar is unknown. In 1902, it was decided to liquidate the altar, which had already fallen into disrepair. Two craftsmen were invited to build the new one: woodcarver Jakob Schrade and sculptor Christoph Mittelhausen. Despite the fact that the old altar was dismantled, something of it has survived, namely the carved figures of angels decorating it, which are kept in the Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation. In 1924, a new altar appeared, which was already the third in a row.
One of the interesting elements of the interior of the Church of St. James is the pulpit. It is executed in the Empire style, it was made by the master August Gothilf Heibel in 1810. The lectern is made of mahogany wood, along its area there are intarsia with rich floral ornaments and exquisite arabesques. In general, the peculiarity of the temple is the mixture of architectural styles in the interior of the church, while on the outside it is relatively homogeneous.
In 1761, the organ master Heinrich Andrei Kontsius began to create an organ for the church. This organ has not survived to this day. The new one was made in 1913, the creator of the modern organ was the master E. Martin. The windows of the Cathedral of St. James are covered with stained-glass windows, the creation of which dates back to the last century. So three bright stained-glass windows that adorn the windows of the eastern wall of the choir were made in 1902 in the Art Nouveau style.
