Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

St. James's Cathedral, Riga

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Location
  
Denomination
  
Roman Catholic

Opened
  
1225

Country
  
Website
  
Cathedral Website

Phone
  
+371 67 326 419

St. James's Cathedral, Riga

Address
  
Jēkaba iela 9, Centra rajons, Rīga, LV-1050, Latvia

Similar
  
St Peter's Church - Riga, Riga Cathedral, St Mary Magdalene's Church, Our Lady of Sorrows Church, St John's Church - Riga

Riga 2016


St. James's Cathedral, or the Cathedral Basilica of St. James, (German: Jakobskirche, Latvian: Svētā Jēkaba katedrāle) is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Riga in Latvia. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint James the Greater. The building is part of the Old Riga UNESCO World Heritage Site and lies directly opposite the House of the Livonian Noble Corporation, the meeting place of Latvia's parliament the Saeima.

Contents

The church is sometimes wrongly called St. Jacob's. The confusion arises because Latvian, like many other languages, uses the same word for both James and Jacob.

History

The church building was dedicated in 1225. It was not originally a cathedral since the Rīgas Doms served that function. At the beginning of the 15th century the Holy Cross Chapel was built at the south end of the early Gothic church, and part of the church was transformed into a basilica.

In 1522 during the Protestant Reformation the building became the second German language Lutheran church in Riga. In 1523 it became the first Latvian language Lutheran church there.

In 1582 it was given to the Jesuits as part of the Counter-Reformation when Stephen Báthory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth gained control of Riga. In 1621 it was given back to the Lutherans after Gustav II Adolf of Sweden occupied Riga. At various times it served as a Swedish language, German language, or Estonian language Lutheran church. In 1812 it was used as a food storehouse by Napoleon's troops.

In 1901 the oldest Baroque altar in Riga from 1680 was replaced by a new one. Following a referendum in 1923, the building was given back to the Catholics for use as their cathedral since the Rīgas Doms was now an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral.

References

St. James's Cathedral, Riga Wikipedia


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