Respecting the tradition of celebrating Lāčplēsis Day in Latvia, State Real Estate (VNĪ) wants to make sure all residents are able to light candles at the 11 November Riverbank.
For seven years now Riga Castle’s protective wall features a steel guard created from the mind of architect Pēteris Blūms. This protection is meant to keep the bricks that make up the wall of Riga Castle save from irreversible thermal damages caused by candles and the heat from them, as reported by VNĪ board chairman Renārs Griškevičs.
To protect Riga Castle’s recently restored wall, VNĪ urges residents to pick candles inside glass containers to protect the stone wall from melted and environmentally unfriendly plastic residue.
Considering the situation with the pandemic and epidemiological restrictions, residents are urged to come and leave candles individually with respect of the regulations in place (before 20:00 p.m.).
The protective guard for candles has 175 sections with a total length of 184 m and width of 1 m. A single section can fit 60 candles and the entire length can fit 10.5 thousand candles. No protective guard will be placed at the section where restoration work is being done on Riga Castle.
Nearly 280 m of Riga Castle’s protective wall was restored as part of the first stage of the restoration project.
The wall surrounding Riga Castle complex on the side of Daugava River and the Cable-stayed Bridge was constructed at the end of the 19th century.
The wall was designed in 1874 by architect Julijs Hāgens. He also partially reconstructed the exterior wall of the bastion of Horn.
Since autumn 2020 the walls of Riga Castle have been under repairs. The first and second stage of repairs are planned to be completed in 2024. The construction project itself was designed by architect Reinis Liepiņš.
Latvian residents invited to leave candles at Riga Castle’s wall for Lāčplēsis Day
