ALBERTO di RIGA (or di BUXNÖVDEN).—D. 17 Jan. 1229. Of the noble Appelderen family, he was canon of Bremen in 1189 and, in 1199, bishop of Livonia, with the difficult task of restoring the declining mission there. Zealous and warlike, he was one of the greatest missionaries and an outstanding propagator of German culture in those regions. He conquered the country by means of a crusade, founded the city of Riga (1201), established the military Order of the Sword-Bearers (Schwertbrüder), founded monasteries, and on 8 Apr. 1207 was invested by Philip, king of Germany, with the principality of Livonia. From there he proceeded with the conquest of Estonia, completed by 1217. In 1207 he founded the bishopric of Leal, later Dorpat; in 1219 that of Semgallen, and in 1276 another bishopric on the island of Osel. About 1224 he obtained exemption from Bremen; but he did not succeed in obtaining the elevation of the see of Riga to an archbishopric. He was venerated as a saint until the Reformation (feast, 1 June).
Albert of Riga (or of Buxhöwden)
BIBL.: Neurici (Letti) Chronicon Lyconiae, in MGH, Script., XXIII, pp. 231–332.
Cite this article
“ALBERTO DI RIGA (O DI BUXNÖVDEN).” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. I (1948), p. 429. Azione Romana digital edition, https://azioneromana.com/article/alberto-di-riga-o-di-buxnovden.