Riga Cathedral is a medieval church shaped by centuries of rebuilding, worship and music. Its cloister preserves the setting of the cathedral chapter, while a monumental nineteenth-century organ stands behind an older carved case.
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The weathercock above Riga Cathedral turns with the wind, but an older rooster has a different story to tell. It once crowned the tower and now survives below. The church beneath it has also changed repeatedly: medieval brickwork, a Baroque tower and an exceptionally large nineteenth-century organ belong to different chapters of the same building.
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- Bishop Albert laid the cathedral’s foundation stone in 1211.
- E. F. Walcker & Co built its organ in 1883–84; the finished instrument had 124 stops.
- The cloister housed the cathedral chapter and was associated with the cathedral school.
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