St. Jacob's Cathedral (Riga)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
St. Jakob on a Latvian postage stamp from 2004

The St. James's Cathedral ( Sveta Jēkaba Cathedral ) in the historic center of the Latvian capital Riga is the Episcopal Church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Riga .

history

After the city fortifications were expanded in 1215, the Church of St. James the Elder was built as a parish church for the new north quarter. The oldest documented mention comes from the year 1225.

In 1522, St. Jacob was the second church in Riga to preach Lutheran preaching. After the city of Riga submitted to the Polish-Lithuanian King Stephan Báthory in the Livonian War and the latter had confirmed its freedoms and privileges in the Corpus Privilegiorum Stephaneum , the king of the city bought the church in 1582 and handed it over to the Jesuits . During the calendar unrest in 1584 , most of the interior was destroyed by an angry crowd. In 1621 Riga came under Swedish rule; the Jakobskirche became Lutheran again for the next 300 years. During this time it was also known as the Kronskirche . In 1656 the Russian artillery shelled the Church of St. James during the siege of Riga during the Russo-Swedish War . To commemorate this, two cannon balls were walled into the vaults above the altar and the nave when the war damage was repaired.

After the First World War and the end of the Tsarist Empire , the Latvian War of Independence broke out and the Bolsheviks occupied Riga , who shot Erhard Doebler , the senior pastor of St. James' Church , along with seven other clergymen and 25 other people on May 22, 1919. The Bolsheviks were eventually pushed back so that the Baltic states could maintain their independence from the Soviet Union , which was founded in 1922 after the end of this war .

The Holy See responded to the independence of the Baltic states by establishing the Archdiocese of Riga. The Latvian Prime Minister Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics then initiated a legislative process to transfer St. Jacob to the Catholic Church. This should be prevented by a referendum , largely initiated by Paul Schiemann . The vote on 1/2. However, September 1923 did not achieve the required quorum . Accordingly, the Church of St. Jacob became Catholic. Since then it has been a metropolitan cathedral .

The term "Jakobikirche" was used in German-Baltic circles.

Architecture and equipment

Church tower of St. Jakob

The Jakobskirche was built from brick in the late Romanesque style ; later it was partially Gothicized . It is a three-aisled basilica with a recessed rectangular choir . In the middle of the west portal stands the massive, square tower 80 m high with a baroque copper dome . Despite the devastation of 1584, the cathedral is again rich in valuable furnishings from different eras.

Web links

Commons : St. Jacob's Cathedral (Riga)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heinz von zur Mühlen : The East Baltic under the rule and influence of the neighboring powers (1561-1710 / 1795) . In: Gert von Pistohlkors (ed.): German history in Eastern Europe. Baltic countries . Siedler, Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-88680-214-0 , pp. 173–264, here p. 182.
  2. ^ Andris Kolbergs: Portrait of a city. History of Riga - Old Town . Jāņa Sēta, Riga 1998, ISBN 9984-07-113-8 , p. 77.
  3. ^ Andris Kolbergs: Portrait of a city. History of Riga - Old Town . Jāņa Sēta, Riga 1998, p. 76.
  4. ↑ John Hiden : Defender of minorities. Paul Schiemann, 1876–1944 . Hurst, London 2004, ISBN 1-85065-751-3 , p. 92.
  5. ^ Constantin Mettig: Guide through Riga with surroundings and Runö . Jonck and Poliewsky Publishing House, Riga 1914.

Coordinates: 56 ° 57 ′ 3 ″  N , 24 ° 6 ′ 17 ″  E