St James Roman Catholic Cathedral (Riga)

 cathedral, christianity, Gothic (architecture), Brick Gothic (architecture), interesting place, listed building / architectural heritage, Roman Catholic church, nonresidential building, 15th century construction, 13th century construction

St Jacob's is one of the oldest churches in Riga, and dates back to 1225. In 1522, it became the first church in Riga to hold a Lutheran service, thereby introducing the Reformation to Latvia. The first Latvian pastor, Nikolajs Rams, who was also the town's first librarian, wrote and translated many hymns for his congregation.
In 1582, during the brief Polish occupation, the King Stefan of Poland, repurchased the Church from the City and returned it to Catholic faith. In turn, the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf evicted Jesuits from the Church and re-dedicated it as the Lutheran Church of Swedish garrison.
However, after 1710, with the Russians now the occupying power, St Jacob's Church was converted into the Russian crown church. In 1922, the church was returned to the Catholic community and in 1993 Pope John Paul II visited the church.
St Jacob’s Church bell, which bore the inscription 'God please save us from Russians, Floods and Plagues', was known as the 'bell of poor sinners' because it was tolled to invite the public to attend beheadings in Rātslaukums.
One of the legends surrounding the bell is that whenever an unfaithful wife passed by it would ring. This so annoyed the ladies (the bell was constantly ringing) that they pleaded for its removal. In 1915, the bell together with the rest of the bells from the Riga Churches was evacuated to Russia and lost. In 2001, however, the bell was restored and once again can be heard.