St. Anne’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

There are two Lutheran churches in the town of Kuldīga. One of them is St. Anne’s Church, which is also the newest church in the city. It was built from donations in the Neo-Gothic style, as evidenced by the decorative star-shaped vaulted ceilings inside the church. Donations for the construction of St. Anne’s Church were already being collected in 1606, but they were repeatedly redirected to other, more urgent needs, until finally—300 years later—the church was built.

The church acquired its current interior, including paintings and stained-glass windows, during the years of the independent Latvian state. At that time, the church also received its most valuable treasure—the organ, which was constructed by one of the most outstanding Estonian organ builders of the era, Augusts Terkmanis.

The church also houses a baptismal font that was donated in 1660 by Duke Jacob to the German congregation of Kuldīga. Later, the pastor of the German congregation presented it to the newly established Latvian church.

One of the church’s greatest sources of pride was its three stained-glass windows. The central window was installed through a donation from State President Kārlis Ulmanis, one side window through a donation from the city council, and the other through a donation from the county rural municipality. The stained-glass windows also incorporate Latvian and city-specific elements, such as St. Anne’s Church itself and the historic brick bridge. These windows were so precious and dear to the local residents that in 1945, as the front line approached, they were removed and buried in the church garden to protect them from possible wartime damage. They remained there for seven years, until they were unearthed and reinstalled in their original place.

Another important feature of the altar area is two special chairs—one with a cross, intended for the Archbishop, and the other with three stars, intended for the President of the State. Although to this day none of Latvia’s presidents has ever sat in the chair designated for the President, it still stands in its intended place in St. Anne’s Church, faithfully waiting for the right moment.