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  • Riga – St. Peter’s Church

    Work on the first St. Peter’s Church started in 1209 and its stone construction meant that it survived a fire which destroyed most of the buildings in the city. The church was extended in the fifteenth century, but the Reformation had a big impact on the city and mobs of angry locals damaged the city’s churches. The Lutherans took over the running of St. Peter’s, although by that time the old altarpiece had been destroyed.

    Martin Luther, the great religious reformer. Although he said that followers of his beliefs shouldn’t call themselves Lutherans, that remains the name of the church today.

    The grand nave. Although the walls survived, the roof was destroyed during the Second World War, so this replacement dates from the 1950s and 1960s.

    The altar. One thing that I did like is that they had blocked off access to the rear of the nave by putting seating there, which pushed people around the aisles of the church. This gave the advantage to those who wanted to go and sit in the nave to have a slightly quieter environment, rather than sit by every man and his goat traipsing down the aisle taking photos.

    Some of the old stonework. Given the number of collapses the building has suffered, the church probably has rather a lot to choose from.

    The church is known for the rooster which tops its tower and the current one is the seventh, with the first having been installed in 1491. This is the sixth rooster, which was in position between 1690 and 1941.

    This is the tombstone of Andreas Knopke, who was the first preacher at the church who supported the reformation. Knopke lived from 1468 until 1539 and the tombstone looks a bit black as it was damaged by fire in 1721.

    This is the Chapel for the Victims of Repression, with the sculpture, and I quote, “symbolising the unbroken spirit of man tending upwards while the horizontal images represent the road of suffering covered by people”.

    Personally, I thought that this art display got in the way of seeing the building’s architecture and it added little of interest to me, although I’m sure that others thought it was intriguing.

    I do wonder whether those plugs really need to be there on the left-hand side…. It’s the memorial to Franz Ringenberg (1584-1611) and the relief on the left represents justice and the relief on the right represents finance.

    A wooden reconstruction of the cathedral’s spire.

    The Roland statue, this one dates from 1894 and is made from sandstone. It’s a sign of the city’s independence and there’s a particularly impressive older Roland statue in Bremen. This statue was mounted in the Town Hall Square in 1896 and it remained there until the middle of the twentieth century, by which time it had become quite worn by the elements.

    There was a charge of €3 for entry to the church and a charge of €9 for going to the top of the tower in a lift. I didn’t feel need to spend that much money to look at Riga in the rain, so I just looked around the church. It’s also a ridiculous sum on the grounds that €2.50 is the hourly minimum wage in Latvia, so a local would need to work for over three hours to pay to go to the top of the tower. For a church based on Lutheran principles, it’s perhaps not entirely ideal, especially when considering that there are no doubt many Latvians who would like to take their children to the top of the tower. I think I’m becoming ever more socialist…..

  • Riga – George Armitstead Statue

    I take these photos of random sculptures and statues as it’s a reminder for me to find out more about the individuals involved with them. The statue is of George and Cecile Armitstead, along with their dog, and it was unveiled in 2006 by HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. The Royal couple were on their first state visit to Latvia, and it adds another dimension to the statue for me that they unveiled it.

    Armitstead, who was the son of a British MP who later became a Lord, was the Mayor of Riga between 1901 and 1912. Riga was part of Russia at the time and Armitstead was invited by Tsar Nicholas II to become the Mayor of St. Petersburg, although this offer was declined.

    Armitstead was seen to have been a successful Mayor, having overseen the development of numerous innovations including the new theatre, art museum, hospital, zoo and the electric tram network. He is also seen as one of the most successful British exports to Riga, and just before his death he was awarded the title of being an honorary citizen of the city.

    Armitstead’s dog, very sweet! The statue was designed and produced by Andris Varpa and Kristine Vizina.

  • Riga – Latvian War Museum

    There’s no admission charge to visit the Latvian War Museum and I had rather taken from that not to get too excited about the experience. However, there was a sign at the entrance saying to leave around two hours for a visit of the entire museum, which made me rather more positive about the whole thing.

    The museum has gone to a big effort to make text available in English, although how they’ve done that varies throughout the museum. In the First World War exhibit, which appears to be their latest one, it’s fully integrated into the displays. In some areas they’ve translated it onto a large laminated sheet which hang down from the displays (this is rather fiddly, I’m not sure why they haven’t attached them to the walls) and in other areas they’ve attached the translation to a long chain to stop anyone pinching them. This chain makes a loud clattering noise, so it’s an handy sign to the staff that they’ve got someone English in the museum.

    The museum is located in the Powder Tower, which was once part of the city’s fortifications, as well as a much larger neighbouring building which is more modern. The Powder Tower was constructed in 1330 and some of the walls are three metres thick, which incidentally would be useful in today’s constructions to keep out noise.

    The museum originally opened in 1921, but the extension to the larger building was completed in 1940, which wasn’t the best of timing all things considered. The Soviets shut down the museum and some of the exhibits managed to disappear during that process.

    From 1957 until 1990 the new Soviet influenced Government opened the Latvian SSR Revolution Museum in the building. Some sources say that the museum lost its academic reputation during this time as it was used as a propaganda exercise, although other sources seem to reject this notion. Whichever was true, the museum wasn’t appropriate in its existing form after independence in 1990 and it was remodelled into what it is today.

    When doing some restoration to the Powder Tower, this bricked up former defensive window was discovered.

    There’s a display about the history of the Powder Tower in the building’s basement.

    A model of what the Powder Tower would have looked like.

    Guess which helmet comes from which country…. Three of them are German, one is British and one is Belgian.

    For those who can’t be bothered to work it out, they’re (from left to right going from top to bottom) Belgian (1917), British (1915), German (1895), German (1915) and German (1918).

    I can’t recall seeing a shrapnel shell being cut open before, but they looked devastatingly brutal things.

    The document on the left is a mobilisation letter issued in Riga on 1 August 1914. If you were aged between 18 and 43 then you were being called up. I remain very fortunate not to be in a situation where I’m called up, as I’m in that age bracket. I’m also not very brave and would be hopeless in a war situation.

    A trench periscope from the First World War.

    Identity tags worn by soldiers during the First World War. If you were killed, then at least they could ascertain who you were.

    These are bits of tree that were discovered to have bullets and shrapnel stuck in them. They’re from the Machine Gun Hill area and the battle took place in 1917.

    The exhibition on the First World War was one of the best I’ve seen, it was well curated, carefully laid out and clearly presented. There wasn’t as much coverage on the Second World War, but it was the Great War that meant that Latvia gained its independence, so it has a different meaning to that in the UK.

    The Germans occupied Latvia for under three years, but they devastated the country’s Jewish population in that time. As in other parts of the German Empire the Jews were forced to identify themselves with this yellow badge.

    This is a demand which requested the return of Latvian independence, with the intention that they would be circulated around Europe. This particular document was discovered under flooring in 2003.

    A slightly macabre exhibit, this is a bullet which was embedded in the heart muscle of Kristaps Zile in 1915. The doctor repaired him, but left the bullet where it was, but it later killed him through a heart attack in 1954. The bullet was given to his son as a memento, which must have been a really lovely thing to be stuck with, and it was given to the museum in 1988.

    The museum has a special exhibition on the top floor which show where Latvian soldiers have fought over the last two decades. They’re certainly had a presence in numerous danger zones around the world, although their role has been nearly entirely humanitarian. The museum doesn’t give much coverage to the period from 1945 until 1990 though, although there’s some explanation of the Latvian regiments.

    I spent over two hours in the museum in the end, so the guide outside was accurate in that regard. The staff in the museum were varied in terms of their interest, some were busy trying to pro-actively explain information, some were reading their books and didn’t seem to notice visitors. However, given that the museum was free, I’d definitely recommend it. There’s a lot to see from different periods of the country’s military history and I liked how they’d made a real effort to make English translations available.

  • Riga – Cake House Amalija

    I was walking by and this looked appealing….

    The internal decor is a little bit Willy Wonka, but it’s certainly colourful. The cafe was busier than the photos look but it was mostly with children (and mothers), so I carefully avoided getting them in the photos.

    The display of cakes, all beautifully presented.

    The latte and green eclair, which also had green cream in it. I couldn’t identify a couple of the toppings by taste, but it was fresh and no doubt consisted of a huge amount of calories. The latte was hot, indeed so hot that it took around fifteen minutes to cool down to become drinkable.

    Service was efficient and the staff member looked like he was enjoying being there, so perhaps he was an owner. Either way he was friendly and spoke perfect English. The cost of cake and latte was around £4, which for a cafe based in a central park didn’t seem unreasonable.

  • Riga – Wok n Kurry

    A restaurant offering both Indian and Chinese cuisine sometimes runs the risk of doing neither very well, but Wok n Kurry was well reviewed and so I decided to give it a try.

     

    It’s quite a small restaurant and there are only about seven tables inside, although it was relatively quiet during my visit. There are also several tables outside though for the warmer period of the year. It’s all clean, functional and well presented with the sole staff member being warm and welcoming. And she also spoke perfect English, as I can’t even pretend to speak any Latvian.

    I wasn’t overly excited by the food’s presentation when it arrived, as the green of the green Thai curry looked a bit too, er, green. Indeed, there was probably too much sauce, but the chicken was tender and it had a pleasant flavour. The carrots added some texture and the quality in terms of the taste met my expectations.

    The portion size was generous and it was all served at the appropriate hot temperature. The service time was also impressive, taking around five minutes from being ordered until it was served. I say impressive, as that sort of service speed with a menu of the size that the restaurant has can certainly lead to short cuts.

    The cost of the curry, rice and orange juice came to around £8, which seemed competitive given the restaurant’s local in the centre of the country’s capital.

  • Riga – Freedom Monument (Brīvības Piemineklis)

    The city’s freedom monument, which was built to commemorate those Latvians who died in the country’s war of independence between 1918 and 1920. The monument was unveiled on 18 November 1935 and it stands 42 metres high, being made of granite, travertine and copper.

    From 1935 until 1940 there was a guard of honour which took place in front of the monument, in tribute to those who had died. When Latvia was occupied the practice stopped, but it was reintroduced in 1992. The guards change hourly and walk slowly in pairs, although they don’t have to do this in adverse weather conditions.

    Running at the moment in front of the monument is a display of individuals who have helped to form the history of Latvia over the last 100 years. The actually centenary of the country’s independence will be held on 18 November 2018, so there are a number of events which are taking place in the lead up to that date.

    One of the images, this one is of Skaidrīte Vēgnere-Plismane, a volleyball player in the 1930s who came from Riga.

    The display was popular with visitors.

  • Riga – Statue of Prince Michael Barclay de Tolly

    Prince Michael Barclay de Tolly was a Russian General during the Napoleonic Wars who fought a tactically clever military campaign against the French troops. He also used the policy of scorched earth to deprive the French troops of food and supplies. Although he was brought up in St. Petersburg, his grandfather was the Mayor of Riga, hence the connection with the city.

    The plinth is made from red granite from Finland, and is the original 1913 plinth, which is appropriate as de Tolly was the Governor-General of Finland. The statue itself is though new as the 1913 bronze version was taken away after just two years because of the First World War and has since been lost. The replacement was added in 2001 using photographs of the original statue as well as an old miniature plaster model that still existed.

  • Riga – Caffeine Roasters (Riga Plaza)

    My initial intention for food on my first day in Riga was to go to the country’s national library, have a look round their exhibition and then go to their restaurant. Anyway, that didn’t work out, because the library was shut. They said in signage that it was a diplomatic day, although I’d be horrified if I were a politician and had managed to make a visit which shut off access to the country’s main library for two days.

    But I only realised that the library was shut when I got to the front door. And I noticed that there were a lot of security staff, all dressed very professionally, and there were some cars that looked like protection officers might have. And a car with little flags at the front. So, I realised at this stage that I was in the middle of a security detail.

    This isn’t an ideal situation to be in, but then I realised I had my hand in my pocket with a wire sticking out of it. That was my very bulky power charger linked by a long wire to my mobile phone, it was just charging. But I was slightly nervous that the security staff might wonder what I was doing. So I did what I thought best, looked calm, looked at my phone and meandered off. No-one seemed concerned and so all was well. Although I was still hungry.

    To get a suitable snack, and to get out of the rain, I just went into a shopping centre near to my hotel. The coffee outlet there is Caffeine Roasters, who are a chain in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, and they also have one random shop in the United States, in Tampa.

    The staff member was on her own and was trying to serve a number of customers whilst also making the coffees. She did well, batching up some payments and then making that batch of coffee, before starting on the next set of customers. All very efficient, and my latte and caramel brownie were both delicious. They cost around £3.50 for the two and although the surroundings weren’t as nice as I hoped from my planned library visit, it was all clean and comfortable. And dry.

  • Riga – Old Church of St. Gertrude

    The current church was constructed between 1866 and 1869, but is the seventh church of the same name to be built on or around this site. Riga has been attacked numerous times over the centuries, and this church has traditionally been outside of the relative safety of the city walls. This made it easy to attack, which forces from France, Sweden and Russia have all done, each time destroying it.

    The first church here was built at around the turn of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and the first six churches were all made of wood. The being made of wood certainly didn’t help its longevity, but the city authorities refused the church permission to build it from stone in 1778. The French set fire to the area in 1812, and the church didn’t survive the blaze. Nor did any building of the suburb it was in, due to the slightly bizarre rule that only structures inside the city walls could be made from stone.

    The organ dates from 1906 and is still in use today, although there’s a restoration fund currently running to finance that project.

    The interior is bright and well-lit. The church has strong connections with the German community and it is called the ‘old church’ as a second was built between 1903 and 1906 to meet the needs of the Latvian speaking population. This church now continues to cater for the needs of the German speaking Lutheran church goers.

    Stained-glass window.

    One of the church aisles. The church congregation shrank to just a couple of hundred of people by the 1980s, but there has been an increase since the end of communism in the country.

  • Riga – Riga Ghetto and Holocaust Museum

    The country’s Holocaust museum opened in 2010 and it has a large outdoors display and also several exhibition rooms in buildings along the side.

    A railway transportation carriage which is in memory of the tens of thousands of Jews who were transported from Germany and then into Riga. The exhibit is known as “the one-way ticket” as very few of those transported survived.

    The inside of the railway carriage.

    The entrance to one of the outdoor exhibits and the memorial wall.

    A blanket used by Joseph Perlman when he was living in the Riga ghetto.

    The inside of the “3,000 fates” exhibit which is dedicated to the Jews who were sent from Theresienstadt Ghetto from 1941 until 1942. At the rear is a painting of Bremen railway station from where the transportation started, a station I visited just a few months ago. Along the side are 230 memorial plaques marking individuals who were transported from Bremen.

    Just as one example from along the long wall, this screen lists those who were transported from Cologne to Riga on 7 December 1941. The list of survivors is at the base, it’s just a handful of those who were deported, thought to total over 25,000.

    On the other side of the screens are a list of Latvians who died during the Nazi period. The screens go on all the way down to the end, there are tens of thousands of names (around 70,000). The stones on the ground are cobbles which have been brought from a street which was part of the Riga ghetto.

    A close-up of just one screen.

    The room of names.

    It’s very difficult to get a sense of the numbers involved here and I remember when I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau there was a mention that you have to try and personalise it and just think of one individual. That way, the individual can be remembered and understood, as knowing that millions died is beyond comprehension. In this case, the individuals mentioned were Karel Mendl and Jiri Mendl.

    In one of the rooms there is a recreation of what an apartment in the Riga ghetto might have looked like. I suspect very many wouldn’t have looked as comfortable as this. Interestingly, unlike in cities such as Warsaw, the ghetto buildings have mostly survived in Riga, around 250 still stand today.

    The display is located in a two-storey wooden house which was brought to this site in 2011 from where it stood in the Riga Ghetto. The house, which would have been built originally for a small family, would have housed around thirty people living in the ghetto.

    Many buildings in Latvia were destroyed by the Nazis, including nearly all those of significance to the Jewish community. Some models have been commissioned to show what the buildings used to look like, with the above being Liepāja Synagogue (a town in the west of the country).

    In one of the displays there’s a special exhibit which focuses on just a handful of families. On the information board one of the family members has written:

    “Share them as they are yours too. Their souls will reappear, those who otherwise would be permanently dead. The Talmud says that ‘you are really dead only when nobody tells your story’”.