LATVIA: Golden rooster returns to spire of Riga's St. Peter's church

Record ID: 744411

  • Title: LATVIA: Golden rooster returns to spire of Riga's St. Peter's church
  • Date: 22nd June 2009
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION RIGA, LATVIA (JUNE 19, 2009) (REUTERS) RIGA SKYLINE WITH DOME (LEFT) AND ST PETER'S CHURCH TOWER (RIGHT) TOURIST GROUP AT ST PETER'S CHURCH / CHURCH TOWER WITH ROOSTER ON TOP PENSIONER VELTA CABUTE LOOKING UPWARDS TO SPIRE GOLDEN ROOSTER PERCHED ON TOP (SOUNDBITE) (Latvian) PENSIONER, VELTA CABUTE, SAYING "When the rooster was pulled up 39 years ago, I was here and I saw how it was done, and how the glass was broken then. I cannot grasp that already 39 years have gone, it seems to have been so recent! Yesterday I was almost crying - for my ageing and everything. And now I had to live yet another 40 years to see the rooster so close."
  • Embargoed: 7th July 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Latvia
  • Country: Latvia
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAEWS0EIRUAAMA9AI0KNIDBNJK9
  • Story Text: In the old part of the Latvian capital Riga on Friday (June 19), people turn out to look at the symbol and guard of the city - the golden rooster - returned to the top of the spire of St. Peter's church which overlooks the city.
    One of the oldest churches in Latvia, St. Peter's was first mentioned in records in 1209. A rooster has always sat atop its spire. But the church has been destroyed and rebuilt several times, the most recent after it was burnt down in WWII. It took 20 years to rebuild, but the golden rooster was then placed back in its rightful place, overlooking the city.
    Following an old tradition then, once the rooster was in place on the spire, someone sat on its back, drank a glass of champagne and threw it down to the ground below. The glass broke into small chips as a sign that the tower and the rooster would live forever.
    But this January, after 39 years of service the rooster was taken down for necessary repair work as it could not do its job - showing the direction of the wind.
    On Friday, Riga resident Velta Cabute, was delighted to see it back in place.
    "When the rooster was pulled up 39 years ago, I was here and I saw how it was done, and how the glass was broken then. I cannot grasp that already 39 years have gone by, it seems to have been so recent! Yesterday I was almost crying - for my ageing and everything. And now I had to live yet another 40 years to see the rooster so close," she said.
    After years exposed to the elements, the rooster needed some repair work, said the director of the company which took the rooster down in January.
    "After the inspection it turned out that the mechanism is jammed and during heavy wind breezes the rooster is being damaged, as it does not turn along with the wind," said Santa Tabulevica.
    The rooster was lifted down by industrial alpinists who used ropes to slowly lure it to the ground.
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