[Photo from liveriga.com]

St. Mary Magdalene's Church is situated in a tranquil area of Old Town. It is a completely different world - quiet, spiritual, far away from daily bustle. This church is special as it offers services in Latgalian, the Latvian dialect from the SE region.

The first wooden building was constructed around 1260 as a monastery church for Cistercian nuns. According to legend, the church was dedicated to the first baptised pagan girl from a Liiv family.

The second stone building suffered heavily during Russian Czar Peter's I invasion in Riga. Later the church was reconstructed and given to the Russian Orthodox Church; since 1922, the building is the Catholic Bishop's residence.

St. Mary Magdalene's Church was made of stone in late 13th century. The Cistercian-style building featured a simple interior and exterior. The church was widened in the 14th and 15th centuries, and large-scale renovation works took place in 1591, including the replacement of the building's artwork and the construction of new windows.

The building was almost totally destroyed in 1710, followed by several reconstructions under the Orthodox Church until the end of the 19th century. From 1924 to 1939, the building was adapted to the needs of the Catholic Church according to the design of the architect Medlings. The Orthodox-style tower had also begun cracking; it was replaced by a small copy of St. Jacob's Cathedral's tower.