St. Jacob Roman Catholic Churchs one of the oldest churches in Riga. The first references to it date back to 1226. At that time it was a church for suburbs' residents. During ages the church changed hands many times: after the reformation it was owned by Lutherans, in 1582 it was given to the Catholic Order of Jesuits, in the XVII century it served needs of Swedish garrison and in 1922 the church was turned over Catholic community. Now it is a Catholic cathedral.
Tower of St. Jacob's Church is the only one that still has Gothic spire that was earlier characteristic for all Riga churches. The steeple of St. Jacob's Church is the only one in Riga with a bell hung outside the steeple. It became the city's distinctive feature. It was named "Bell of Wretched Sinners". As legend says, the bell was taken away at requests of discontented townspeople because it had a bad habit to ring by itself when any unfaithful wife was passing it by.
2
