St James' Cathedral is the main Catholic church in Latvia, the fourth largest church in Riga. St James' Cathedral is a brick Gothic monument. The first mention of the church, on the site of the present cathedral dates back to 1225. This date, engraved on the central western façade of the church, is believed to be the supposed year of construction of St James's Church.
During the Reformation period in 1552, parishioners risked holding the first Lutheran service in the history of Riga in this church. In 1524, during the peak of anti-Catholic unrest, the Church of St. James, like most of the Catholic churches in the city, was destroyed, which resulted in the almost complete destruction of the interior.
During the siege of the city by the Russian troops of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the church of St. James was attacked by the Russian army. St James's Church was hit by several shells. Two of them, in memory of the siege of Riga, were buried in the walls of the central façade. Riga siege were bricked into the walls of the central façade, and two more into the altar section.
Throughout its history the church has changed its denomination several times. and partially rebuilt. In 1756, a pointed spire in the shape of an octagon was added to the main church building. In 1782, a new central portal was built. Since 1923, the Church of St. James again belongs to the Catholic faith.
The church tower, including the spire, is 80 metres high. In the interior interiors, one can see the floral ornamentation decorating the capitals on the choirs of the of the church. This type of ornamentation is rare in the church canon of Gothic sculptural decoration. Originally the church was of the hall type, today is now a three-nave structure, measuring 27 by 50 metres in plan. In general the interior of the church is rather simple and laconic, which, however, corresponds to the design concept of Catholic sacral buildings. In 1736, a traditional weathervane in the form of a rooster was placed on the spire of the church tower, which we can still see today.
In 1680, an altar was created in the church, which at the time was the main Royal Lutheran Church, an altar was created. It is believed to be the earliest Baroque-style altar in Latvia. Who is the creator of this of this altar is unknown. In 1902, a decision was made to liquidate the altar, which had already fallen into disrepair. Two craftsmen were invited to build a new one: wood carver Jacob Schrade and the sculptor Christoph Mittelhausen. Despite the fact that the old altar had been dismantled, something of it survived, namely the carved figures of angels, which are preserved in the Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation. In 1924, a new altar was built, which was the third.
One of the interesting elements of the interior of St James Church is the pulpit. It is made in the Empire style, it was made by the master August Gotthilf Heibel in 1810. The pulpit is made of red wood, inlaid with rich floral patterns and exquisite arabesques are placed along its area. In general the peculiarity of the temple is the mixture of architectural styles in the interior of the church. decoration of the church, while outside it is comparatively homogeneous.
In 1761, the organ master Heinrich Andrei Konzius began to create an organ for the church. This organ has not survived to this day. A new one was made in 1913, the creator of the modern organ was the master E. Martin. The windows of St James' Cathedral are covered with stained glass windows, which date back to the last century. The three brightly coloured stained glass windows that decorate the windows of the eastern wall of the choir were made in 1902 in the Art Nouveau style.
