Dobele Evangelical Lutheran Church

The first Christian church in Dobele was built in a medieval castle in the 14th century, and continued to serve until the 17th century. Nevertheless, the town around the castle continued to expand, and soon there was a need to build a new church.

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Overview of Dobele Evangelical Lutheran Church

Dobele Church

The foundation stone of the church was laid in 1495 by order of the master of the Livonian Order Walter von Plettenberg. It is no longer possible to reliably reproduce what the church looked like in those days. Over the past time, the church building has been rebuilt many times, and it finally acquired its modern appearance in 1907.

In 1908, a clock mechanism and a four-sided tower dial were installed in the church tower. These watches were produced at a factory in Berlin, and served as a gift to the church from the wife of the Dobele postmaster, Emilia Schiffer, and today, 107 years later, they continue to show the time accurately.

At the beginning of the XIX century, three bells were also installed in the tower, but during the First World War they were evacuated to Russia and their trace is lost. The new bell was cast in Bochum, Germany, and installed in the tower in 1927. The bell's motto is: "Wake up. Summon it. Calm down." (Latvian. Modini. Mudini. Mierini.)

The church houses unique objects of art: the epitaph to the head of Dobele Castle Philip Drachenfels, created by the Riga artist Berent Bodeker, the altar painting "Golgotha", which was made by the Jelgava artist E. Kipert, a massive granite candlestick made in the shape of the Holy Grail (a gift from the Latvian lawyer and Dobele native Andris Grootups).