Piltene Lutheran church is located in Piltene, some 20km from Ventspils. The church was originally built-in 1557.
The pride of the Piltene church is gilded wooden altar and pulpit, organ with 9 stops, wooden images of XII century Apostles, benches, and separate lodges with doors with kettle-hinges.
I first discovered the Pitlene church at the sart of 2021, while doing random wanderings in the area
Pitlene church from a drone flight
The church was built in 1557. During the Great Northern War, the church building began to collapse, and in 1708 the congregation decided to build a new church.
In 1710, the great plague began and the construction was stopped, in 1717, during the aftermath, 257 peasants survived in the 34 manors belonging to Piltene.
In 1719, the current stone church was completed on the site of the collapsed wooden church. In 1722, an organ with nine registers was made, the author of the prospectus was Liepaja wood sculptor Joachim Kreicbergs. The church still has wood carvings from the 16th century. Instead of the wood-carved image of Christ, as it was in the first church, the new one had a painting of the altar of Baron Rene, the new church was wide and bright. Bench for 222 seats and with forged hinges. Church sculptures are typical Baroque works. Here were the twelve holy apostles along the edges of the pulpit. The pulpit dates from 1719, but a copy of Jānis Rozentāls' painting from the 19th century
