Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, Riga

Church building in Riga, Latvia This article is about the Orthodox cathedral of Riga. See other articles for the Lutheran cathedral, the Roman Catholic cathedral and the other Orthodox Cathedral. "Nativity of Christ Cathedral" redirects here. For the cathedral in Chișinău, see Nativity Cathedral, Chișinău.

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Church in Riga, Latvia

Nativity Cathedral
The Nativity of Christ Cathedral in 2012
Nativity Cathedral
56°57′14.09″N 24°6′55.97″E / 56.9539139°N 24.1155472°E / 56.9539139; 24.1155472
Location	Riga
Country	Latvia
Denomination	Eastern Orthodox

The Nativity of Christ Cathedral (Latvian: Kristus Piedzimšanas pareizticīgo katedrāle, Russian: Христорождественский кафедральный собор), Riga, Latvia was built to a design by Nikolai Chagin and Robert Pflug in a Neo-Byzantine style between 1876 and 1883, with decorations made by the firm of August Volz, during the period when the country was part of the Russian Empire. It is the largest Orthodox cathedral in the Baltic provinces built with the blessing of the Russian Tsar Alexander II on the initiative of local governor-general Pyotr Bagration and bishop Veniamin Karelin. The Nativity of Christ Cathedral is renowned for its icons, some of which were painted by Vasili Vereshchagin. During the First World War German troops occupied Riga and turned its largest Russian Orthodox cathedral into a Lutheran church. In independent Latvia, the Nativity of Christ Cathedral once again became an Orthodox cathedral in 1921. Archbishop Jānis Pommers, a native Latvian, played a key part in the defence of the cathedral, including defence from the Latvian government which was extremely unfriendly to Orthodox Church in the first years of an independent Latvia. In the early 1960s, Soviet authorities closed down the cathedral and converted its building into a planetarium. The cathedral has been restored since Latvia regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

In 2002, new bells cast in the Russian ZIL factory were brought. In 2010, the bell tower and the dome were gilded, at a cost of 550,000 euros.

Gallery

Side door
Central dome
From St. Peter's Church
Prior to gilding
Dome interior
The iconostasis
Ca. 1900

References

Fil, Olga (2017). Rīga tête-à-tête. Rīga: Beaux-Arts. pp. 225–231. ISBN 978-993-48690-1-3.

External links

About Nativity Cathedral on the portal Other Riga

v t e Riga cityscape
Old Town	Castle Cat House Convent Yard Dannenstern House House of the Blackheads House of the Livonian Noble Corporation Large Guild Powder Tower Small Guild Swedish Gate Three Brothers
Hotels	Grand Palace Gallery Park
Monuments & memorials	Brothers' Cemetery Bikernieki Memorial Forest Cemetery Freedom Monument Great Cemetery Pokrov Cemetery
Parks & gardens	Bastejkalns Mežaparks University of Latvia Botanical Garden Vērmane Garden Victory Park
Museums & galleries	Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation National Museum of Art Museum of the Occupation of Latvia The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia Museum of Natural History War Museum Art Museum Riga Bourse Museum of National History
Theatres	Dailes Theatre Latvian National Opera Latvian National Theatre Palladium Riga New Riga Theatre Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre
Places of worship	Nativity Cathedral Cathedral St. Peter's Church St. James's Cathedral
Bridges	Island Bridge Railway Bridge Southern Bridge Stone Bridge Vanšu Bridge
Structures	Radio and TV Tower
Other	National Library of Latvia Central Market Latvian Academy of Sciences Zoo Mežaparks Great Bandstand Palace of Justice Laima Clock Zunda Towers
Waterways	Daugava River
Streets	Alberta iela Brīvības iela Kaļķu iela

v t e Places of worship in Riga
Lutheran churches	Bolderāja Cathedral Church of Christ Church of Jesus Church of Luther Church of the Cross Church of the Resurrection Daugavgrīva Holy Trinity Jaunciems Mežaparks New St. Gertrude's Old St. Gertrude's St. Catherine's St. John's St. Martin's St. Paul's St. Peter's
Catholic churches	Assumption of Our Lady Cathedral Christ the King Our Lady of Sorrows St. Albert's St. Catherine's St. Francis St. George's St. Joseph's St. Mary Magdalene's
Orthodox churches	All Saints Annunciation of Our Most Holy Lady Ascension Christ the Saviour Holy Archangel Mikhail Holy Trinity Holy Trinity Cathedral Nativity Cathedral Revelation of Christ St. Alexander Nevsky St. John the Forerunner St. Peter and St. Paul St. Sergius of Radonezh Shelter of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos of Kazan
Old Believers places of worship	Grebenstchikov House of Prayer
Other Christian churches	St. Saviour's (Anglican) St. Gregory's (Armenian Apostolic)
Synagogues	Peitav Synagogue

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References

External links