St. Peter's Church - Riga, Latvia

The Church of St. Peter will be interesting for the traveler not only outside, in the temple itself there is also something to see ...

Inside reigns the atmosphere of the Middle Ages, with all the attributes of that time, ancient coats of arms, knightly clothes. Peter's Church is located in the old town, on Skarnyu Street 19, near the Daugava River, near the Town Hall Square.

The church was built as a folk. The Dome Cathedral banned the construction of this temple, but the city authorities still decided to build this cathedral. Money for its construction was donated by merchants, artisans and even quite poor peasants. At the same time, the church was a cult for the local nobility in the era of feudalism. When the temple also worked the first city school.

When designing the temple was chosen slender Gothic style. Initially, the church was rather cramped, as it was supposed to perform the functions of the most ordinary church. In the middle of the XIV century, a tower clock was installed on the churches.

Immediately there was a guard, who raised the alarm at a fire or other incident. Hearing the bell, the townspeople fled to the place of disaster.

Only at the beginning of the 15th century, under the guidance of the famous, at that time, construction master from Rostock, Johann Rumemestel, a new altar part and a bell tower were added.

Later, in the XVII century, portals were erected, which were decorated in the Baroque style and the well-known spire, preserved to our time. Thanks to him, and he is visible from anywhere in the city, the Church of St. Peter has become a symbol and one of the main attractions of Riga.

Many historians believe that in the XIII century the church tower could well be a separate building. It was attached to the church only in the 15th century. At the same time, a wooden spire in the form of an octahedron was installed on the tower, which has stood for almost 200 years. But in the middle of the XVII century, the spire collapsed from the effects of natural factors.

When he fell, a nearby house was destroyed, which led to the death of eight people. A year after the fall, the spire was reconstructed, but after 10 years, the fire did not regret it. In the last ten years of the XVII century, the spire was built anew. For many decades, this spire was the highest wooden spire in Europe.

In the 21st year of the 18th century, the temple was subjected to a lightning strike, which led to a large fire. Not only all local residents, but also guests of Riga, were engaged in extinguishing the church. Among the guests who took part in extinguishing the fire was the Emperor All-Russian Peter I, who was then in the city.

The fire did not stop, so that the spire burned down almost completely. However, he did not collapse on neighboring buildings, but as it folded inward. Therefore, there were no human sacrifices or major destruction.

photo provided by the portal http://redhit.ru/articles/80

Legend has it that the prayers of the Russian Emperor contributed to this. Immediately, at the behest of Peter began to restore the spire. It took almost twenty years to restore it and in 41 of the 17th century all the work was completed. Two centuries flaunted this spire on the temple.

However, in 1941, on the day of St. Peter’s commemoration on June 29, an artillery shell hit the wooden tower and the pride of Riga, once again, burned down. During the Great Patriotic War, the church was almost completely destroyed and it was not until 1962 that the church was rebuilt, and the spire was reconstructed later in 1973. The new spire was made the same as Peter planned it, but only from metal.

Inside the temple there are many different interesting things: tombstones darkened by time, bricks with half-erased inscriptions, etc.

Today, the spire of the Church of St. Peter flaunts on the set of souvenir cards, and the viewing platforms can be reached all year round.

Address:

Skarnu street 19

Coordinates:
Latitude: 56 ° 56′50.77 ″ N (56.947437)
Longitude: 24 ° 6′30.86 ″ E (24.108573)

Official site - churches

This place on the map of Riga

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