The Dom Cathedral, Rīgas Doms in Latvian langauge, is as important for Riga as the Eiffel Tower for Paris and Big Ben for London. It is its symbol, its tourist attraction and the number one sight. The biggest medieval cathedral in Baltic countries is not only Domus dei for hundreds of thousands believers. It is also one of the best concert halls of the world which is famous for its unique pipe organ.
The foundation of the cathedral was laid in 1211 and it is ten years younger than Riga. It is actually the second birthday of the city as due to the founder of the cathedral, German bishop Albert, it rapidly developed from a medieval settlement into a major Hansa city on the Baltic Sea. The current capital of Latvia is its successor.
Thanks to the Riga Duma headed by Mayor Nils Ushakovs the Dom Cathedral was saved from destruction at the very last moment. The current self-government of the Latvian capital city has finally done what its predecessors and the government ignored for decades. It began renovating the dilapidating architectural monument of global importance. The first stage will last two years and will be completed in 2014 when Riga becomes the cultural capital of Europe.
Various faces of cathedral
The Dom Cathedral is the heart and soul of ancient Riga that determines the atmosphere of Old Riga. In winter evenings its dark greatness dominates the square. In hot summer days it gives relieving shade for bright umbrellas of street cafes to hide under. In any time of the year screaming seagulls fly over its tower as is appropriate for any coastal city .
The cathedral acquired its current appearance in late XVIII century after a large-scale reconstruction. In over eight centuries the image of the main cathedral in Riga harmonically fit into various architectural styles. The construction of the Dom Cathedral began in the grandiose Roman style and generations of architects enriched it with elements of Gothic ascent, Baroque grotesque, and strictness of Classicism. Therefore the cathedral looks completely different from various sides.
A high brick wall surrounding the cathedral and monastery goes along the whole quarter. From time to time it disappears in houses built in various historic periods and then emerges again. For example, it happens so in Janiela Street better known as Flower Street where the famous Soviet 12-part movie Seventeen Moments of Spring was shot. The house of Mrs. Hudson from the famous Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson movie is glued to the old wall.
In one of the narrow deadends adjacent to the Dom Cathedral the brick surface of the wall has white plates. They are headstones. The first Livonian bishop Meinard and its last spiritual father Valter fon Pletenberg were buried in the Dom Cathedral. They stopped burying in the cathedral and around it in 1772 upon an order of Russian Empress Catherine the Second.
Where the light comes from…
The Dom Cathedral has always been a spiritual and education center. The Capitul – supreme Livonian spiritual leadership – assembled there to decide the life of the Baltic Sea region.
The Dom School was the oldest educational establishment in Livonia which trained future priests and all those wishing to enter universities. In the XVI century it became a higher school and was headed by Jacob Batus, a comrade-in-arms of Reformation father Martin Luther. Distinguished publicist Garlibs Merkels and philosopher Iogann Gerder lectured there. The monument to the latter stands in the namesake park at the main entrance to the cathedral. The freethinkers opposed serfdom and called for expanded rights of the Latvians who were oppressed by German barons. Their dreams came true, as we can see now. . .
Classes in the Dom School initially were in Latin and then in German language. From 1772 teaching was also in Russian language. Today the successor to the Dom School is called the First State High School which is considered to be the best secondary school in the country. Many distinguished people finished it, including two prime ministers of independent Latvia – Einars Repše and Ivars Godmanis.
The first Livonian library appeared under the spacious cupola of the Dom Cathedral. Manuscripts and books collected by monks were transferred to the first public library of Latvia which is currently subordinated to the Latvian University.
One of the oldest museums in Europe – of the History of Riga and Navigation – is also a part of the monastery complex. It emerged in 1773 on the basis of the private collection of Riga doctor Nikolas von Himzel. However many exhibits – coins, fishing tackle, and utensils – were discovered during excavations close to the cathedral.
Mysterious Albert
The foundation stone of the cathedral was laid on July 25, 1211 by Bishop Albert who arrived in Riga from Bremen to convert pagan Baltic tribes into Christianity. His vessels anchored in the mouth of the Ridzene River which flowed into the Daugava. In late XVII century it became shallow and later disappeared completely. Now the place between 13 January, Alksnaja and Vetspilsetas Streets is called Albert Square. In early ’60s of the past century archaeological excavations there produced remains of two ships resembling Viking vessels. Scholars believe they belonged to the flotilla of the bishop.
History says nothing how the father of Riga looked like. No portrait has preserved. There is only a vague image on old detrited coins. The Bank of Latvia issued their new copies on the eve of the 810th anniversary of Riga. However no matter how hard you try you cannot see his face features but only that he was of robust built.
The monument to Albert in the yard of the cathedral does not pretend either to be the same as the original. Descendants of Baltic Germans living in Germany have recently restored it at their own expense. The genuine monument vanished during evacuation in the First World War. Historians still disagree in assessing the activities of the bishop. On the one hand, he gave a green light to the Baltic conquests by Crusaders, historian Leonid Fedoseev wrote. Albert fon Buksgevden was not only a Christian enlightener, but mostly a knight of the Order of the Brothers of the Sword who conquered local tribes with fire and sword and subordinated them to Livonian authorities.
But on the other hand, we can say that Albert developed Latvians. . . into Latvians as current Latvia is a part of the Baltic territory which the Crusaders did not allow growing Lithuania to swallow. Had it not been for the courageous bishop modern Latvia would have been a suburb of Lithuania. Who knows? It is only clear that Albert considerably changed the fate of Riga.
Divine sounds
The refined and famous pipe organ is 600 years older than the cathedral. It was built in 1883 by German company E.F.Walcker&Co and is considered to be the most valuable in the world. Ferenc Liszt called Praising God the music he devoted to the first performance of the Dom pipe. Artist and philosopher Nicholas Roerich also admired it.
Jevgenija Lisicina has been playting the Dom pipe organ for over half a century. She moved from Leningrad to Riga for the purpose and is happy .
— There is nothing better than the Dom pipe in the world, she said.
Together with Jevgenija we go up the narrow stairs to the choir and the organ. The stone arch is just above the head. It echoes every word. The famous acoustic of the Dom Cathedral is another miracle.
Jevgenija changes shoes (as pipe playing requires leather shoes with a slippery sole and a wide heel), puts her hands on the keys and. . . the cathedral is full of magic sounds of Bach – either waves flow the coast or wind sounds in the skies. You feel good. It is calm and easy to think.
— I swim in the music and every time die of excitement, said Jevgenija when the last sound died out in the spacious hall. Jevgenija Lisicina is a bright represnetative of the Dom pipe school which emerged yet in the ’60s of the last century when the cathedral acquired the status of a concert hall.
Like Pēteris Sīpolnieks, Oļģerts Cintiņš, Larisa Bulava, Aivars Kalejs, and others she is a disciple of Nikolajs Vanadziņš, the patriarch of Latvian organ music. A graduate of Petersburg Conservatoire he educated a constellation of outstanding musicians. One of them – Tālivaldis Deksnis – teaches pipe organ in the Latvian Musical Academy. There is always a tough competition for the profession and the new constellation of young organ players – Edīta Alpa, Iveta Apkalna, Ilze Reine, Vita Kalnciema, Robert Hanson, Jānis Peļše, and Atis Stepiņš – have already asserted themselves.
From 1988 the Dom Cathedral annually hosts an international festival of pipe organ music in mid-summer. The daily 20-minute Piccolo Concert at midday enjoys incredible popularity among tourists. A total of 270 concerts are annually performed in the Dom Cathedral and its long-standing concert administrator Silvija Zaķeproudly said that no other concert hall can boast such popularity of the audience.
Burden of years
Natural calamities did not spare the cathedral. Lightnings numerously hit its high spire. There were fires caused by negligent people. According to the minutes of a court session, in 1696 “on Saturday before the first pre-Christmas Sunday organ master Brandisiy was in a bad mood and threw aside a burning candle which fell into a pile of rubbish between benches”. A fire immediately broke out, but was extinguished with a big effort.
There were also floods as the flat bank of the Daugava River used to be much closer to the cathedral than today. In April 1709 water was so high that monks hauled two fish at the altar. The flood occurred again in 35 years and they began to build dikes on the bank. If earlier you had to go upstairs to the main side entrance, now you have to go down eleven stair-steps.
Main illness of cathedral is time…
The cathedral is a living creature, said scientists who monitor the health of the patient with the latest equipment. The big building erected on coastal quicksand constantly subsides resulting in a web of cracks on the walls. In 2005 the state of the architectural pearl was recognized as critical – the tower of the cathedral declined 34 centimeters from the vertical. Wisecrackers immediately called it Dom-Pisa cathedral while UNESCO included it into the list of a hundred endangered objects.
At that time the Dom Cathedral became the property of Evangelic-Lutheran Church of Latvia and the national parliament adopted a law on the preservation of the valuable architectural complex. However nothing changed after it. The cathedral which was last renovated in 1909, over a century ago, continued to dilapidate.
The catastrophe was prevented at the last moment. The Riga Duma listed the preservation of the sacred place as a priority and earmarked four million US dollars to it. Nearly the same amount was received from the European Regional Development Fund in the framework of cultural monuments preservation program.
—We adopted the right decision, said Riga Mayor Nils Ushakovs.- In a couple of years the cathedral would begin to collapse and we would have to pay much more for its restoration. The mayor was right as unpleasant surprises were exposed during the work. The southern wall has cracked and the eastern facade which looked in order also needed urgent reinforcement. The renovation of the most important city object is being done by the RE&RE construction company. Architects say the main task is to preserve and reinforce the “eggshell” – roof, walls, and windows.
Safety margin
… A construction lift takes guests up to the roof from where Old Riga and the mottle strip of the Daugava spread out before you and where the wind is so strong that it can carry you away. The Golden Cockerel, the old guard of Riga, is very close and you can see how big it is.
The roof was the first element for the builders to deal with and the autumn of 2011 was luckily warm and dry in Riga. The rotten century- old framework was replaced and the coves were covered with copper. Today the plates have darkened already and acquired the necessary noble tint while in summer the roof of the ancient cathedral was light-mindedly shining in the sun. Builders hope the safety margin will last for three hundred years.
The Unique Cross Gallery which runs 118 meters along the internal yard has been put in order. Today the pearl of the Gothic architecture is open for visitors who want to admire the gray olden time. The Capitul Hall – the oldest premises in the cathedral – has been restored. It is located in the semi basement and water has for centuries oozed by the walls saturating the bricks and leaving salt on the surface. The bricks which are contemporaries of Bishop Albert have been carefully cleaned. Concerts and wedding parties will be held under the stone arches where supreme spiritual leadership of Livonia used to gather long ago.
Stained-glass windows are multi-color bright now. They were made in Germany and reflect the history of Riga dated back to late XIX century. Earlier glass masterpieces have been completely lost in church pogroms in Reformation times. The stained-glass windows are illuminated in the evening on holidays and the old cathedral resembles a fairy tale castle.
When bells ring…
—The developments in the Dom Cathedral are not just renovation or repairs. They are careful and meticulous restoration of a unique monument in which our experts use all the latest achievements and also experience of predecessors. The smallest carelessness can result in a loss of cultural values, said Didzis Putniņš, Re&Re director general.
If the restoration of another museum – the Stock Exchange – was an international project, the Dom Cathedral is restored only by local experts – thirty best restorers of the country use mostly Latvian materials and pay special attention to their compatibility with ancient constructions. Thus, restored wooden elements are bonded by ancient drop-forged nails which is a three-century old technology.
Today the scaffolds have been removed from the Dom Cathedral. At first sight the symbol of Riga looks like it did before. The paradox is that it was exactly the task of the restorers. The better they do the job the less visible it is. (The only difference is that the cathedral will offer access to handicapped people as it got wheelchair ramps). The work of Latvian masters was highly praised by the head of the World Lutheran Federation Martin Junge who last year visited Riga to see how the Dom Cathedral is transforming.
Head of the Latvian Evangelical-Lutheran Church Archbishop Jānis Vanags dreams of the time when bells will ring in the cathedral’s tower. The bells have been restored and are kept in the yard of the cathedral. Before mounting the tower has to be reinforced with metal constructions to sustain the weight of the bells.
Ancient Riga legend says that once in a hundred years the spirit of water comes out from the Daugava to ask city residents: “Has the construction of Riga been completed?” If somebody responds “Completed” the spirit will immediately grab him under the water. But Riga is permanently built and the evil spirit has to go back every time with nothing. The legend is also true for the Dom Cathedral. Its restoration will cost an estimated 76 million dollars and last ten years. Riga Duma leaders promised to continue investing in the salvation of the cathedral. – It is our duty to preserve the sacred building for next generations, said Riga Vice Mayor Andris Ameriks. While the Rigas Doms is safe and sound everything will be good in its city today and in hundred years. . .
Christina Liepinja,
for Amber Bridge