Riga Cathedral is getting its voice back. After more than 110 years, three new bells will restore the historic chime over Old Town.
Three Riga Cathedral bells — named Jānis, Gabriels and Marija — were consecrated on Sunday, 11 October 2026, and are expected to be ringing from the tower by mid-November, the cathedral restoration team told Latvian Radio.
Key facts
- Consecrated Sunday, 11 October 2026; hoist into the tower starts this week
- Names: Jānis (~3 tonnes), Gabriels (~2.5 t), Marija (~1.5 t)
- Cast in Germany by Rincker, a foundry working since 1590
- WWI: four historic bells taken to Russia; only the smallest came home
- Target: installed, tuned and ringing by mid-November
When will the new Riga Cathedral bells ring?
Not this weekend. Crews lift them onto a platform, then into the masonry section of the tower — the same spot the old bells hung. German technicians arrive in about a month to install, tune and ring them in. The parish wants the job done by mid-November.
They’re not copies of the lost set. Inspired by them, yes — but bigger range, richer sound. Restoration head Ronalds Lūsis puts it simply: the tower will sound a lot more impressive.
Why did Riga lose its cathedral bells?
World War I. Almost every church bell in Latvia was shipped to Russia so German troops couldn’t melt them down. After the peace treaty, only one small Dom bell came back. It cracked on 13 January 1991 while calling people to the rally on the Daugava embankment.
Cost kept the full chime parked for years. Donors finally unlocked it.
If you’re walking Herdera laukums this autumn, listen up. And if Old Town architecture is your thing, last weekend’s Open House Riga tours showed how much of this city still hides behind locked doors. Same energy that made Riga 825 and the Open Riga Code 825 weekend feel like a birthday, not a brochure — the city’s landmarks actually showing up.
Mid-November, the Dom should hit different. Stay tuned.
Photo: Riga Dome Cathedral at twilight — Ryzhkov Sergey / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
