What happened
Riga Cathedral is set to restore its historic chime after more than 110 years. The cathedral's historic bells were lost during the First World War, with most being taken to Russia to prevent them from falling into German hands. Only one bell was returned after the war, but it cracked in 1991.
Three new church bells, named Jānis, Gabriels, and Marija, were consecrated on Sunday and will join the existing bells. The new bells were cast by the Rincker bell foundry and weigh between 1.5 and 3 tonnes. They are not exact replicas of the original bells but were created inspired by the historical ones.
The restoration project was delayed due to high costs but has been realized thanks to donors. The new bells will be placed in the masonry section of the tower, where the historic cathedral bells once hung. Work on hoisting the bells into the cathedral tower is set to begin next week, with representatives from Germany arriving in a month to install, tune, and ring in the bells.
The cathedral parish hopes to complete the installation by mid-November. The new bells are expected to create a more magnificent range of sounds, with the head of the restoration project, Ronalds Lūsis, saying the sound will be
