RIGA DOME CATHEDRAL OVER CENTURIES AND PARADIGM SHIFTS IN ITS RECONSTRUCTION (Rigas Doms gadsimtu gaita un paradigmas mainas rekonstrukcija)

• Authors: Grosmane Elita
• Languages of publication: LV

Abstracts

EN

The retrospective element typical of the 19th century art is directly related not just to the tendencies of artistic development but to historical heritage of culture as well. The largest and most prominent Baltic medieval monument - Riga Dome complex - was influenced by this aspect. This article aims to follow the processes from the reconstruction that started in the 1880s till 12 May 1909 when the Dome Construction Department of the Riga History and Antiquities Research Society announced the completion of the Dome Cathedral and Monastery reconstruction. The question how the magnificent ensemble, an integral part of the city panorama, was constructed and changed over time remains topical. To what an extent the Protestant pragmatism and recurrent retrospective tendency had fostered the preservation of the Dome's medieval overall image and how did various epochs bring in their own stylistic transformations are the aspects under scrutiny. First one has to return to ancient times: on 25 July 1211, St. James' Day, there was a festive ceremony during which the Bishop Albert (c. 1165-1229) laid the foundation stone of an ambitious project. In the 13th century the Cathedral and the adjoining Monastery were completed, becoming the largest medieval complex in the Baltic region. Of course, some additions were brought by the following centuries, but the imposing architectonic structure, noted as an outstanding example of transition from the Romanesque to the early Gothic style, has survived till our days. The first building material of Riga Dome Cathedral was limestone blocks, but it was completed using red brick and should be included in the area of Central European Brick Gothic.

Keywords

EN

BRICK GOTHIC; MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE; RECONSTRUCTION; RIGA DOME CATHEDRAL

Discipline

• ARTS_&_ARCHITECTURE: ARTS & ARCHITECTURE

• Publisher: Publishing House 'Neputns', Terbatas iela 49/51-8, Riga LV-1011, Latvia; www.neputns.lv
• Journal: Materiali Latvijas makslas vesturei
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 7
• Pages: 9-30
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Grosmane Elita

• Elita Grosmane, Institute of Art History of the Latvian Academy of Art, Akademijas laukums 1-160, Riga LV-1050, Latvia

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

11LVAAAA093226