Religious sites in Latvia
St. Peter's Church
First record of the St. Peter's Church dates back to 1209. The church was a masonry construction and therefore undamaged by a city fire in Riga that year. The history of the church can be divided into three distinct periods: two associated with Gothic and Romanesque building styles, the third with the early Baroque period. The middle section of the church was built during the 13th century, which encompasses the first peri ...
Founded: 1209 |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
Riga Cathedral
Riga Cathedral is the Protestant cathedral in Riga, Latvia. Built near the River Daugava in 1211 by Livonian Bishop Albert of Riga, it is considered the largest medieval church in the Baltic states. It has undergone many modifications in the course of its history. Certainly one of the most recognisable landmarks in Latvia, the Cathedral is featured in or the subject of paintings, photographs and television travelogues. A ...
Founded: 1211 |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
St. John's Church
St. John's Church was built in the 13th century, probably between 1234-1297. It was originally home of the Dominican monks, but over the centuries fell into the possession of the Lutherans. It has also served as an arsenal for the city. The most notable features of this unheralded church are the impressive 15th century sculptures of St. Peter and St. Paul which adorn the the 18th century altar. According the legend two m ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
St. James's Cathedral
St. James's Cathedral, or the Cathedral Basilica of St. James is dedicated to Saint James the Greater. It is frequently referred to by the name St. Jacob because Latvian, like many other languages, uses the same name for James and Jacob. 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 wa ...
Founded: 1225 |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
Reformation Church
Built from 1727-1733, this is one of the few Calvinist churches in Latvia. After renovations in 1805, its basement was turned into a warehouse, while the Soviets turned the whole building into a recording studio. Now the upstairs is used for occasional concerts and the downstairs is waiting for yet another entrepreneur to open a club there.
Founded: 1727-1733 |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
St. Saviour's
This little church commissioned by British traders living in Riga was built in 1857 on a shipload of English soil specially imported from the UK. Consecrated in 1859, the church was only full when British warships visited Latvia. Transformed into a student disco during Soviet times, it is once again a place of worship which is attended by Riga's English-speaking expat population. Its pastor and his dedicated flock are als ...
Founded: 1857-1859 |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
Nativity of Christ Cathedral
The Nativity of Christ Cathedral (Kristus Piedzimšanas pareizticīgo katedrāle) was built to a design by Nikolai Chagin in a Neo-Byzantine style between 1876 and 1883, during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire. It is the largest Orthodox cathedral in the Baltic provinces built with the blessing of the Russian Tsar Alexander II on the initiative of local governor-general Pyotr Bagration and bishop ...
Founded: 1876-1883 |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
Orthodox Church of the Annunciation
The original church that once stood here was destroyed when the entire area was razed in 1812 to deprive Napoleon’s army of shelter. The army took a different route. Fortunately, some of the historic icons were saved and now adorn the walls of the current yellow wooden church that was built in 1818. Although it looks like it’s falling apart on the outside its simple interior is still worth a quick peek.
Founded: 1818 |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
Old St. Gertrude's Church
The monumental neo-Gothic church was consecrated in 1869. This red brick masterpiece topped with a green copper spire was designed by one of the city’s most prolific architects, J.D. Felsko. Unfortunately, some of its decorative ornaments cast in concrete are now in a sad state and hang precariously above passers-by. Many of the art nouveau buildings surrounding the church are also worth a look.
Founded: 1869 |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
St. Alexander Nevsky Orthodox Church
Construction of this Classicist wooden building began in 1820 and was completed five years later. In 1862 its eclectic-style belfry was added. Yellow and round with a large green dome, it’s hard to miss it on the corner of Brīvības and Blaumaņa. Inside you’ll find three porticoes, beautiful icons and, unusually, a central altar in the middle of the room.
Founded: 1820-1825 |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
St. John's Church
St. John's Lutherans Church is one of the oldest medieval architectural monuments in Latvia and the largest medieval basilica outside Riga. The Church was built in 13th century under the Livonian Order by the second Riga Archbishop Johann von Luves. Cesis became one of the most important German centres from 1237 to 1561. In the 16th century St. John's Church survived a few changes. First at the beginning it was devastate ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Cēsis, Latvia
St. Simon's Lutheran Church
Built in 1238, St. Simon`s Lutheran Church has still preserved its medieval appearance. The church has burial plaques of notable city dwellers from the 15th to 16th century, a pipe organ (1886) and paintings on the pulpit and the organ lofts (1730). The viewing platform of the church tower provides a panoramic view of Valmiera.
Founded: 1238 |
Location:
Valmiera, Latvia
St. Catherine's Church
St Catherine"s Church was originally built in 1252. However, it was later rebuilt with baroque style wood carvings on the altar. In this church Duke Jacob was baptized and later married to Princess Louisa Charlotte from Brandenburg. The church was given the name of St Catherine, the patroness of the town.
Founded: 1252 |
Location:
Kuldīga, Latvia
Holy Trinity Orthodox Church
Although an older church dating back to 1453 once stood here, the current 17th-century Russian baroque-style building was completed in 1893. Designed in the shape of the Orthodox cross, its soaring belfry and blue and green onion domes can be seen from quite a distance. Inside you’ll find the smell of incense and hundreds of icons common to Orthodox churches.
Founded: 1893 |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
Aglona Basilica
At the end of the 17th century, the Dominican Order established a monastery in Aglona and built the first wooden church. After the church burnt down in 1699, a stone monastery building and the present church were built in its place in 1768-1780. The interior of the shrine was created in the 18th-19th century, but the pulpit, the organ, and the confessional were built at the end of the 18th century. The church houses an e ...
Founded: 1768-1780 |
Location:
Aglona, Latvia
St. Simeon’s and St. Anna’s Orthodox Cathedral
St. Simeon’s and St. Anna’s Orthodox Cathedral was designed by architect N. Chagin and built during 1890-1892, with the financial support of Russian Czar Alexander III. The altar and foundation remained from the previous church which was built in 1774 after the design of architect F.B. Rastrelli. It was devastated in WWII and renovated between 1993 and 2003.
Founded: 1890-1892 |
Location:
Jelgava, Latvia
Talsi Lutheran Church
On the steep Church Hill of Talsi rising above the old town stands the white-stone Church of Talsi – built in 1567 and reconstructed numerous times. In the course of several centuries its architecture was shaped by Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles. Its history is reflected both in the architectural planning and in the facade structure of the building, providing an insight into the architectural fashion of ...
Founded: 1567 |
Location:
Talsi, Latvia
St. John's Church
St.John's church was dedicated on August 27, 1900 after the long history before. The first wooden church was built in 1461, the next, also made of wood, was built in 1530 and renovated in 1567. The masonry church was built in 1614-1615 and financed by Wilhelm Duke. The fifth church in Saldus was built in 1737 on the hill where the present church stands. It was reconstructed in 1825. In 1898 the old church was torn down. ...
Founded: 1900 |
Location:
Saldus, Latvia
Grebenshchikov Church
The first wooden place of worship was built here in 1760, and the current building was completed in 1814. It is home to one of the largest congregations of Old Believers in the world (about 10,000), an Orthodox Christian sect that fled persecution in Russia in the 17th century.
Founded: 1760-1814 |
Location:
Riga, Latvia
St. Anne’s Church
St. Anne’s Lutheran Church is one of the largest and certainly the oldest church in Liepaja. First written references about this church were found in documents dated in 1508. Initially wooden St. Anne’s Church was built by the Master of Livonian Order and was located elsewhere in Liepaja. Construction works of the wooden church were finished in 1587. In the 17th century, the wooden church was bordered with bri ...
Founded: 16th century |
Location:
Liepāja, Latvia