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EN
Riga St. Peter's Church is an architectural monument that dominates the present-day panorama of Riga. We are accustomed to ascribe the laconic designation of Baroque to the 17th century St. Peter's Church tower and restored façade, but for the today's art historian this term seems too general and insufficient from the viewpoint of formal analysis. A time has come to return to this phenomenon of Riga architecture to reassess the traditional assumptions and provide a wider stylistic description. The year 1675 when Rupert Bindenschu was appointed the Master Builder of the city marks a new era in the Riga 17th century architecture. Riga's architectural landscape in this period can be typified as international, but activities of Dutch architects in Eastern Baltic region had a direct influence upon the local art phenomena. The fresh classical trends taken over from Holland introduced by Bindenschu in Riga architecture significantly changed the city's character. Bindenschu is the first to introduce in Riga the contemporary standards of Northern European classical style - first the colossal order and all related aesthetic system. It is important to modify the idea of this architect as the introducer of Baroque in Riga, as his principles and style cannot be formally defined by the term 'Baroque architecture'. His style is based on a well-considered system of smooth planes with plastic Baroque accents, a result of mastering leading architectural tendencies of Northern Europe.
EN
This is a short insight into the origin and creation of a unique architectural object in Latvia, which demonstrates the characteristic Dutch style of the 2nd half of the 17th century. St. Saviour's church itself is a rectangular building, almost a square. The configuration of the structure is typical of the 17th century Calvinist temples of central planning in Holland. The characteristic architectural features do not have any analogue among the other architectural monuments of Latvia: the compact form of the building is crowned by a high roof, and its tendency towards a central plan is emphasized by four small turrets - one at each corner - as well as a fifth on the ridge of the roof. The walls are rhythmically divided by colossal order pilasters. The main decorative element that enriches the generally quite severe architectural image is the framing of the windows: each of them is decorated with profiled segmental and triangular pediments, which alternate according to Baroque principles. In all aspects, the interior corresponds to the requirements of 17th century Protestant architecture, where the main demand was for breadth and unity of the inner space. In exploring the development and diffusion of the classical style in other countries, we should pay particular attention to the architectural treatises and printed examples. In the case of the Subate Lutheran Church, we can recognize a sample for a four-towered temple in a treatise book by Leonhard Christian Sturm, a German professor of architecture, educated in Leyden and who attended lectures by Nicolaus Goldmann, a famous professor of architecture.
EN
Stylistic description of the most excellent examples of Riga 17th century architecture in art literature, including Reutern House, is often limited to ascribing them to Baroque. When describing the style, one should refrain from strict classifications as both classicised Baroque and Classicism of the Baroque epoch may be involved. Nevertheless, remembering the typical formal features of Dutch Classicist or Palladian architecture, it would be more appropriate to consider it as a specific Northern European phenomenon, a very pronounced expression of Classicism within the chronological boundaries of Baroque. Compared with the works of Northern Dutch classicists, one of the typical features of Reutern House is the emphasised contrast between the smooth, classicist-type façade solution and the finish of the entrance portals. Reutern House was a quite ambitious project for the 17th century Riga town environment; it can be described as an outstanding example of Dutch Classicism, coinciding with Philips Vingboons' and Pieter Post's architectonic heritage and similar architecture in Stockholm, Reval (Tallinn) and Narva. The local specificity of Riga Palladianism consists in the presence of definitely Baroque elements in the façade finish - more than in Holland itself. The innovative contribution of master Rupert Bindenschu to the new-style dwelling houses should not be underestimated. Bindenschu's style was strongly influenced by the Dutch architects' constructive principles. The town's cultural environment was largely shaped by its links with Sweden and the political and economical background, but in Bindenschu's case, it seems direct links with the Dutch architectural heritage were involved.
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