Riga Cathedral - Riga, Latvia
N 56° 56.961 E 024° 06.271
35V E 323897 N 6315478
The Riga Cathedral (Latvian: Rigas Doms) is a medieval church that was constructed in 1211. It was the central cathedral of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword until the disintegration of the Order in 1561.
Waymark Code: WMV6GN
Location: Latvia
Date Posted: 03/04/2017
Views: 16
"The Dome is the Latvian Archbishop’s cathedral and a church of the Dome parish. Historically, the Riga Dome was the Livonian Order’s central cathedral until the disintegration of the Order in 1561. In the medieval period, the Riga Dome Cathedral was the largest and one of the oldest sacral buildings in Latvia and the entire Baltic Region.
It unites in itself features of the Romanic, Early Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau. At present, the Riga Dome Cathedral actively serves the Dome parish and the Lutheran Church in Latvia and is the main place of ecumenical services in Latvia, as well as one of the centres of Riga’s musical life which preserves historical, architectural, artistic and cultural values from different centuries.
In the 14th – 15th centuries the Dome Cathedral was extended with construction of the west nave and side chapel, making the central nave of the premises higher and, thus, transforming the Dome Church into a basilica.
The tower of the Dome Cathedral has also experienced several transformations. In the 15th century the spire reached the height of 140 m, but it suffered during the fire of 1547."
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"The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (Latin: Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae, German: Schwertbrüderorden, French: Ordre des Chevaliers Porte-Glaive) was a military order established by the third bishop of Riga, Bishop Albert of Riga (or possibly Theoderich von Treyden) , in 1202. Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204 for the second time. The membership of the order comprised German "warrior monks" who fought Baltic pagans in the area of modern-day Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Alternative names of the Order include Christ Knights, Sword Brethren, and The Militia of Christ of Livonia.
Following their defeat by the Samogitians and Semigallians in the Battle of Schaulen (Saule) in 1236, the surviving Brothers merged into the Teutonic Order as an autonomous branch and became known as the Livonian Order."
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