In the heart of Old Riga it is the largest square - dome, in the center of which stands the symbol of the city of Riga - the dome Cathedral with its world famous organ. Tourists from all over the world come to Riga to see this wonderful area and beautiful in Baltics, the dome Cathedral.
This article is about the dome Cathedral and dome square and its sights can be read here.
Riga Cathedral (Latvian name Rīgas Doms and German Dom zu Riga) was founded in 1211 as the Cathedral of Bishop Albrecht. During its history the Cathedral has been repeatedly rebuilt and restored. Today, its architecture combines late Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque.
None of the buildings of Riga in age, scale, grandeur and attendance will not equal the dome Cathedral. It is the largest medieval Church in the Baltic States. The first thing we've ever seen, arriving in Riga this is the Riga dome Cathedral, and he from the first minute he charmed us with his humble greatness and simple beauty. Yes, the architecture of the Cathedral you will find nothing hateful and pretentious, but that doesn't make him less charming, quite the contrary, his austere style and grace attract like a magnet.
This interesting name of the Cathedral is the dome, comes from the Latin expression "Domus Dei", which translated means "House of the Lord." Currently, the Cathedral is the chair of the Archbishop of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church and the dome Church community and a symbol of the spiritual life of Latvia.
With each of the four sides of the towers of the Cathedral are the clock tower and the dome of the tower is decorated with a gold Cockerel.
The arched main entrance to the Cathedral
In the historic centre of Riga, the old town, the dome Cathedral along with the Cathedral of St. Peter create a unique silhouette of the city. The peaks of the towers of the two great cathedrals towering over the other buildings and visible from many points in the city. All this creates a picture of stunning beauty.
View of the old city and the Duomo from the viewing platform of St. Peter's Church
The Duomo is not only the biggest but also the most iconic building of Latvia. It has many artistic and historical treasures, the most famous of which, of course, is the famous organ.
The exhibit of the mechanism of an old clock tower
Of course, the main attraction of the Duomo is an ancient organ. This famous organ, installed in 1884, has 6 700 pipes and is one of the largest organs in the world.
Impressive in size and the body has a height of 25 meters, and its metal and wooden pipes range in length from 13 mm. to 10 m. the Organ has four keyboards for the hands and one pedal for the feet.
In the Cathedral hosts concerts of organ music. The schedule and admission prices can be found on the official website of the Duomo. The ticket price ranges from 10 to 12 euros per person.
From time to time, the authority closed on prevention. So if you want to hear the sound of one of the largest bodies of the world, pre-check dates and times of concerts. We were unlucky during our visit to Riga on the ball is closed to prevent and we failed to hear the sound of this historic organ.
No less important in the Cathedral is the altar. The altar dome of the Cathedral was made in 1896 by the design of V. Neumann. The three-part altar in the Gothic forms. The middle part of the altar is the cross, and on the edges there are four carved wooden figures of the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Currently existing stained glass Windows made in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, a period when the ensemble of the Church restoration took place. Restoration was carried out with the money from donations.
On one of the stained glass Windows currently, you can see the Madonna and child at the hands of the representatives of genus of the Park. Also on the stained glass Windows depicts the Bishop albert and the first builders of the dome of the temple.
In the ensemble of Riga dome Cathedral is one of the oldest museums of Latvia - the Museum of history of Riga and navigation. The Museum was founded in 1773 on the basis of the private collection of doctor Nikolaus von Himsel. The Museum contains exhibits related to the history, culture and lifestyle of Riga, and a valuable collection on the history of Latvian navigation. The Museum entrance fee, 3 € adult ticket. Official site of the Museum of history of Riga and moralista: http://www.rigamuz.lv/km/index.php.
To the right of the main entrance to the dome Cathedral is the monument of German philosopher, educator, writer and folklorist Johann Gottfried (Johans Gotfrids Herders), 1744-1803 years.
Johann studied theology at the University of königsberg (1762-1764 years). From 1764 to 1769, the years was the dome school teacher, taught science, mathematics, French, stylistics and history. Developed the idea of continuous progress in the history of mankind and the progress of society toward humanism, with special emphasis on common sense and justice.
Location and address of the Duomo: the Duomo is located in the old town of Riga, on dome square, at Herdera laukums 6, Centra rajons, Riga, LV-1050, Latvia.
Opening hours of the Duomo:
Open for inspection,
From 1 July to 30 September: Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:00-18:00, on Fridays and on Wednesdays until 17:00, Thursday until 17:30.
From 1 October to 30 June: every day from 10:00-17:00.
The official website of the Duomo: http://www.doms.lv/index. On this same website, under "Music" you can find the time on prevention and Billboard concerts.
In the Cathedral services are held in Latvian and concerts of organ music.
