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History of Saint Peter's Church, Riga and it Tower - It was first mentioned in 1209, as the Merchant's Church. At the time, it was intended to be the main one for the city. Originally, it was Catholic, but became Lutheran during the Reformation in 1523. During warfare with the Livonian Order in 1297, it was used for catapult bombarding of the Wittenstein Castle. In 1408-09 the Rostock architect I. Rummeschotel added a new altar area to the existing building. More construction took place in 1456, and by 1473 the old church was completed.
The tower, originally of wood, was rebuilt a number of times. It once collapsed in a storm, totally destroying a nearby house and killing 8 people. It then it burned down for the first time in 1721, and it is said that the Emperor Peter the Great himself helped fight the fire, and then immediately issued the orders for its reconstruction. He ordered the chief architect to sit on top of the weather vane at the completion of the work, drink a glass of wine, and throw the glass to the ground. The shattered pieces were to be counted, and the number of pieces would show how many centuries the spire would survive. The glass landed on a passing hay cart and survived, with only the stem breaking -- two pieces. Sure enough, the spire was destroyed by fire again -- two hundred years later, on Saint Peter's Day, 1941. For many years it was thought that the church was accidentally hit in the crossfire of battle; however it has since been discovered that it was deliberately set on fire by retreating Soviet troops as a propaganda move to blame the Germans for its destruction. There is now an elevator to an observation platform from which you get by far the best view of Riga City.
The interior of Saint Peters Church is made up of red brick walls with arch ceilings. Doting the walls are tombstones and plaques and crests of knights and noblemen. Located in one corner is a white marble Statue of Jesus. Legends has it, the red streaks seen through out it represents Jesus bleeding for mankind. When this statue was carved the red streaks were not visible to the sculptor, but later appeared. The flowers in front are replaced daily as well is the candle.
Along one wall is the Memorial to the Victims of the Communism Terror in Latvia. This memorial is done in black marble, and is highly polished. The inscription on the black marble slab reads:
DAUDZ MOCEKLI IR IZREDZETU TEV MANA MAZA TEVIJA
The Statue of Roland designed by Wilhelm Neumann, Roland is the nephew of Charlemagne. The statue is 6.3-meters tall, and it was dedicated on the 11th of December 1896. The statue faced the city Rathaus (Town Hall) and was traditional in style. Roland's sword was the point from which different distances in Riga and Latvia were counted.
The monument survived World War II, but in 1945 the Soviet authorities ordered that the sculpture should be torn down and its base should be destroyed. The sculpture was damaged in the fall but is still exhibited at Saint Peters Church. The style of the work is similar to the early Renaissance German master Peter Visher Senior. On the 9th of December 1999, a new base was made, and the Roland statue was exhibited. In May in the year 2000 a copy of the whole statue by Edvins Krumins was placed on the base.
Series of pictures of the 1941 destruction of Saint Peters Church Tower by retreating Soviet Troops from the German Army.
Tags: Tour Travel Events Riga Latvia Saint Peter's Church City of History Art Statues Plaques Crests Vaults Stained Glass Windows Head Stones Grave Markers Tombstones Alter Pulpit Churches Historical
