Those Interred in the Wall

Two stone masks with their mouths wide open can be seen on the external wall of St.John’s Church on Skārņu Street. According to stories, similar features existed in all Dominican churches, and through these masks notice was given to those outside that the preaching had begun. The lower part of the wall has a cross-like opening covered by a lattice. People say that in the 15th century two monks wanted to be canonized by spending the remainder of their lives bricked up in the wall. Many decades later a recess with their remains was found. The recess was bricked up anew so as not to disturb the remains of the deceased, and this opening on the external wall was left as a memorial to these monks.