Restoration of the exterior doors of the cathedral is ongoing

Currently, the restoration of all three windows over the main entrance doors is completed. The restoration work of the door leafs continue in the workshop.

Already before the start of the restoration, through architectural research, which included probing and studying the paint layers, it was discovered that the doors had been repainted and restored several times over the centuries. To preserve the testimony of the past, it was decided to preserve the exposures of the exposed historical colors. On the restored door they will be seen as narrow lanes.

Due to unexpected work in the church tower area, the overall project timeframe, including the restoration of the cathedral facade, has been delayed, but due to favorable weather conditions and an increase in the contractor's workforce, the ongoing work may continue.

As part of the door restoration work, the church's door leading to the basement was also dismantled. Before the restoration, the door was inconspicuous and tinned for many years. None of the people involved in the project knew what was underneath this tin paneling and how the authentic doors looked like.

 The exterior doors of the cathedral are being renovated with the financial support of the Federal Republic of Germany and Baltische Baudenkmäler e.V.

Restoration works on the tower of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Liepaja are almost completed

October 14, 2019

October 2019 marks a new entry in the history of the restoration of the tower facade of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity of Liepaja. The renovation of the façade of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Liepaja has taken place since autumn 2018 and now the tower has a bright and festive color.

The renovation of the façade of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity of Liepaja is carried out within the framework of the operational program for growth and employment of the European Union funds for the programming period 2014-2020. Specific support objective 5.5.1 "Preservation, protection and development of the important cultural and natural heritage as well as the development of related services" in the framework of the cooperation project "Coastal heritage of Southern Kurland through the centuries".

During the restoration of the church tower revealed the need for additional unforeseen work, which required a reinforcement of the tower. After removal of the damaged plaster of the tower, significant damage to the tower structures was discovered. Repair works done on the tower play an important role in maintaining the durability of the tower structures and preventing the risk of collapse. Now all the work necessary to maintain the substance has been completed - the damaged wall has been ed and further 2,000 kg flowing mortar injected, cracks in the tower wall eliminated, restored metal structures, restored shutters and skylights, restored the 55 m high observation deck, church cross restored and gilded and a lightning protection system Installed. In April, a contract was signed with UPTK SIA for additional work on the tower for 87,613 euros. The congregation will be required to pay for tower reinforcement within two years of commissioning the facility.

The reinforcement of the church tower was financially supported by the National Heritage Board, the City of Liepaja and Vereingte Kurländische Stiftungen e.V. Another € 52,613 is required to fully cover the costs of the fortified and restored tower. We kindly ask business people and inhabitants of the city for their support and would like to thank all donors who made donations this year (€ 7938 in total) and all those who support the Cathedral in their thoughts, words and works and keep it in prayers.

The project "Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Liepāja. Façade and tower renovation; Restoration of windows and sandstone parts "runs until April 2020. The construction works are carried out by the SIA" UPTK ", the construction supervision - by the SIA" Akords U "and the author oversight - by the" Arhitektoniskās izpētes grupa ".

The work of the Liepāja Holy Trinity Church Renovation Fund is supported by the Municipality of Liepaja and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church.

 You can find videos on the restoration of the cathedral here and here

Restoration works completed in summer 2019

August 7, 2019

In July the gilding work of the cathedral tower cross and sphere was completed - the tallest, highly visible part of the tower acquired a new glow. The on-site work at a height of 55 m, in a specially constructed protective film construction, took approximately two weeks and was carried out by restorers Agnese Gulbe and Dagmāra Mišķe under the management of “Firma UPTK”. Before that several weeks of preparation had been done - experimental areas were created, the tower sphere and the cross were cleaned of layers, polished, primed, painted with anti-corrosion paint and a thin layer of gold was applied with fixed gold plates. A total 16.5 g of gold and 400 gold notes were used. Restorer Agnese Gulbe admits that work at this altitude was the first time she was exposed to the effects of both cold winds and hot sun. An important condition for working at this height was physical fitness and not being afraid of heights. The work of the restorer includes a wide range of works and the collaboration with the restorers will continue with the next work - the restoration of the dials of the church clock.

By now almost 60% of windows and shutters are restored and replaced. Work on the window restoration in the organ room is done, and in August the organ master will return mechanical organ parts dismantled during repair as well as the restored organ record buttons.

In June, the painting of the facade of the tower, renovation of metal structures (upper riveted iron part of the tower, including roof, tower viewing platforms, cast iron balustrade, capitol volts), dismantling of the existing tinplate, laying of new tinplate (elements on the tower), exposed fixtures and restoration were done.

Intense work took place in the church tower, which required additional reinforcement of the tower. After removing of damaged plaster of the tower revealed significant damage to the tower structures, which were not included in the project cost, but which play a significant role in maintaining the durability of the tower structures and preventing the risk of collapse. Liepaja St. The Trinity Evangelical Lutheran congregation has agreed with the builder SIA Firma UPTK to carry out the work on the deferred payment. The total cost of the additional tower work is 87 663 EUR. One third of these costs will be covered by the financial resources of the National Heritage Board (10 000 EUR) and Liepaja City Municipality (20 000 EUR) granted through the project competitions. To cover the remaining two-thirds of the unexpected costs, we invite anyone who cares about the restoration of the cathedral to support these works. Additional work done in the tower till August - rebuilding of eroded and damaged masonry, injection of masonry.

In July drainage works and foundation plinth restoration were completed, as well as most of the lightning drain installation work. The church plinth, foundation and waterproofing works are very important because the lack of waterproofing and the plinth's poor condition were the cause of the water moving into the exterior walls of the house, adversely affecting the stone details, plaster, entry portals and the entrance doors. In July the restoration of cornice strokes, the painting of the facade, the elimination of structural cracks, the restoration of metal structures and the cleaning of dial surfaces continued.

At the end of July the restoration of the exterior doors of the cathedral was started, which will be done in cooperation with the “Baltische Baudenkmäler e.V. ”. The building has five restorable exterior doors with skylights, one repairable door. The works are supported by the Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM). It is planned to complete the door restoration in November.

The Liepaja St. Trinity Church Reconstruction Fund thanks everyone involved in the renovation of the cathedral and everyone who supports it. Donations this year have been made mainly by church members and longtime supporters of church restoration work. Support has also been provided by the Finnish Jäger Traditions Society and the Finnish Jäger Association. The Fund would also like to thank all Liepaja residents who donate, contribute or otherwise support the cathedral's renovation.

Renovation of the facade of the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Liepaja is being implemented by Operational Program "Growth and Jobs" of the European Union Funds for the 2014-2020 Programming Period within 5.5.1. specific support objective “To preserve, protect and develop important cultural and natural heritage, as well as to develop services related thereto” within the cooperation project “South Kurzeme Coastal Heritage Through The Centuries”.
Construction work on Liepaja Holy Trinity Cathedral is planned to complete in spring 2020, the total duration of the project is 24 months. Liepaja Holy Trinity Cathedral facade restoration project total budget is 1 176 471 euro, of which 1 million euro or 85% of the total funding is covered by the European Regional Development Fund and 176 thousand euro or 15% of the collected donations for church renovation. Additional work costs for the tower structure strengthening and renovation - 87 663,31 EUR.

Renovation of the exterior doors of the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Liepaja is supported by the Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM) and “Baltische Baudenkmäler e.V. ”.

The restoration of the exterior doors of the cathedral will begin

The reconstruction of the church's front door will begin at the end of July 2019. The project will be financed with the support of the association “Baltische Baudenkmäler”. Liepāja Holy Trinity Church Renovation Fund turned to the association in late 2017 with a request to support the restoration of the exterior doors. The building has five exterior doors with upper windows to restore and one door to repair (with a nailed tin).

In the spring of 2019, the association was pleased to hear that the project submitted to the German government had been supported and that the door restoration could start. The works will be financed by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM) and the association “Baltische Baudenkmäler”.

The jobs are scheduled to start at the end of July and to be completed in November.

On 9 July 2019, Mr. Baron Michael von Grotthuss, chairman of the association “Baltische Baudenkmäler”, visited Liepaja. During the visit there was the opportunity to meet the representatives of the German and Latvian communities and Liepāja Holy Trinity Church Renovation Fund and to discuss further cooperation for the successful implementation of the project as well as to get acquainted with the implementation of the facade renovation project.

Restoration work on the facade of the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Liepāja

23. November 2018

The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Liepāja celebrates its 260th birthday on 5th December. We are pleased that the renewal of the facade of the church has started this year!

In the first half of the year, the scaffolding was built around the western side of the building to the north and south entrance, also around the tower to the top of the tower. The damaged plaster of the facade is removed in this part of the building and you can see old yellow bricks, which hide under the plaster in the lower part of the cathedral, and red bricks, which form the upper part of the tower. The top of the tower has already got the sand color that will later cover the entire facade.

The roof balustrades are renewed and painted white, the roof of the tower is renovated. The contractors and architects are still working on the best restoration method of sandstone details, and prepare restoration program for external metal windows and work on renewing the interior windows.

The project manager of the company "UPTK" Mr. Mārtiņš Lilienfelds says that the plaster has unfortunately covered many defects and it is clear that the scope of construction is bigger than it was planned from the beginning. In some places, the metal parts break in fingers, and the bricks have become loose. On the other hand, there are details that are well preserved through the centuries and will stay for next generations. Currently about 10% of the total amount of construction work is completed.

On Saturday, December 1, 2018, at 11:00 am, a special service for the 260th anniversary will be celebrated.

The foundation for the renewal of the Holy Trinity Church Liepaja invites everyone to to support the renewal of the facade with a donation so that all planned and unplanned building measures can be carried out.

“May the beauty of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us” (Psalm 90:17)

Restorers from Poland help with the restoration of the Holy Trinity Cathedral Liepāja

 

Restoration work of the church started in early summer 2018 with the installation of scaffolding construction around the tower and part of the southern façade of the cathedral. Then restorers could start their work and identify damages and find best solutions to fix them.  

One of the companies involved in the renovation of the cathedral is the company "Bartłomiej Kubiak Konserwacja Zabytków" from Poland, which mainly deals with the restoration of stone parts and plaster.  Thanks to their work, the facade of the cathedral will regain its former beauty. The company acts as a subcontractor of the project general contractor SIA "UPTK".

The company "Bartłomiej Kubiak Konserwacja Zabytków" already has a lot of experience working in Latvia. The Museum of Art "Rīgas Birža" has been restored with their help, they worked in the Residence of the President in the Riga Castle. In 2017 the company worked at the restoration of the historical facade of the Liepaja Music School.

Restoration Work of the Cathedral

-          In 2008 long-horn beetles were eliminated from the church interior and organ.

-          Technical projects have been worked out and the work on the roof renovation and cathedral foundation reinforcement has been implemented 2012 - 2014. The project has been financed by donations of natural and juridical persons from Latvia, Germany and the United States of America and partly from the European Regional Development Fund (total investment of EUR 615,939).

BEFORE roof renovation, 2007	AFTER roof renovation, 2014
Cathedral foundation reinforcement, 2013	AFTER foundation reinforcement, 2014

-          Money for gradual organ renovation was raised from national and municipal procurements and donations in Latvia and abroad year by year. Step by step regluing of bellows was performed, the electromotor was replaced, the console and Berker lever were renovated and work on the organ mechanics arrangement has been started. However, to complete the organ restoration, two more millions euro are necessary.

-          In 2016 the technical project of the cathedral façade and tower renovation, as well as the renovation of windows and stone parts was developed.

-          2018 a project “Renovation of the façade of tower and building, renovation of windows, doors and stone parts” has started. Total duration of the project is 2018-2020, total costs EUR 1 176 470.59 with one million co-financing from ERDF. The rest of money will make contributions from local and international entrepreneurs and natural persons. So far a little bit more than 100 thousand EUR are needed.

 You can support this project by making a donation!