Templar Treasures Hidden in Riga
By Inese Timuka .
09.11.2009
The real location of the Arc of the Covenant and the Holy Grail is a mystery that is thousands of years old. The hidden riches of the Knights Templar continue to excite the world’s treasure seekers.
In present-day Latvia, searches have been going on for decades, from Count Cagliostro to Hitler's “Ahnenerbe” expeditions in the 1940s. Even the Soviet KGB looked for the Holy Grail. It is a question that torments history scholars and treasure hunters alike.
Secret escape
October 13, 1307 is the date widely accepted as being the day the Knights Templar were annihilated, but in fact the purge is documented to have continued until 1314 – a seven-year period that allowed ample time for the remaining Knights to vanish, taking with them their secrets and wealth.
Having been betrayed and abandoned by the Church and hoodwinked by the King, the Templars disbanded. Individual groups merged into several other European orders. But one segment of the Knights Templar, the one bearing all of the order’s great secrets, artifacts and gold, needed a safer haven than their brothers had found. Protecting themselves was secondary to protecting their treasures. So the search began for the perfect hiding place.
Since neither King Philip nor the Pope Clement found any of the Knights’ documents, secrets or wealth, it is logical to conclude that the surviving individuals successfully escaped with their treasures, laying low until the world believed that they had met their demise.
Knights Templar in Riga?
Why, you probably wonder, would the Knights Templar take their treasures as far from France as the cold shores of the Baltic, merely to hide from their predatory European rivals?
The history of the city of Riga is more than 800 years old and it has an abundance of dramatic events stored in countless legends, songs, memoirs and tales as well as volumes of historical works and monuments.
The River Daugava has been a trading route since the times of antiquity, part of the Vikings’ navigation route to Byzantium. A sheltered natural harbor upriver from the mouth of the Daugava – the site of today's Riga – was recorded in the second century. It was subsequently settled by the Livs and later also the tribe of the Kurs. Riga developed as a center of Viking trade into the early Middle Ages.
According to the chronicles, Riga was founded as a city in 1201 by Bishop Albert from the von Buxhoevden family. It is known that the bishop arrived on ships with 20 knights in white cloaks carrying a red cross – the symbol of the Templars.
Unlike his predecessors, who could only evaluate all the benefits of the land that was washed by waters from three sides, Albert was one of the first Christian missionaries to actually conquer the local inhabitants, and instead of the pagan dwelling places of the Livs he established a beautiful city.
Some believe that it was the Templars’ money that helped in the process of construction, and later French silver was paid for the construction of stone castles throughout Latvia. And they were built at a distance which does not exceed a day's journey.
The French king had managed to smash the Templar organization by cutting off the head, but, Hydra-like, the Knights Templar survived as bankers, pirates, slavers and soldiers. There is a possibility that some joined up with the Livonian Order.
The Livonian Order had originally been quite poor, at that time with just two small stone castles in Riga as well as a wooden church, a parsonage, several warehouses and a pier. That was all they managed to operate in over 100 years of existence.
Then, suddenly in 1315, just a year after the purge of the Knights Templar was supposedly completed, Riga and its surrounding territory experienced an unexplained economic boom. Almost simultaneously, construction began on no less than 34 castles complete with towers and excellent access roads.
Buildings popped up like weeds. A grand new cathedral and castle now graced Riga, and a substantial acquisition of property expanded the borders of this once poor little city.
Foreign architects and bricklayers were brought into Livonia to insure the quality of these massive building projects. Where did this tremendous and sudden wealth come from?
Some might argue that the Baltic region's warm seaports may have suddenly begun to export many more goods. During this era, however, records show that the Baltic region was importing much more than it was exporting. In fact, nothing at all seemed to change dramatically during this time, except for the mysterious economic windfall.
Aside from the lost Templar gold, could this part of the world actually hold magical, mystical secrets locked away in enchanted forests, mounds of rock, ancient symbols, ornaments and even folklore? And if any of this is true, is it possible that the spirits of the Knights Templar continue to act as the guardians of the keys to this mysterious kingdom, protecting their secrets until the time is right and the world is ready to hear them?
Interestingly, both the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians are of Templar descent and closely linked. The Rosicrucians and Masons are two secret societies with one common philosophy and purpose, as is reflected in their symbols-rose and cross-within the Masonic set-square. The sword, an indispensable symbol for the Templars, is also an irreplaceable accessory in the Masonic lodges. Since Masonry is the continuation of the Order of Knights Templar, the Templars' teachings derived from Cabalist-Jewish faith and rituals live on in Masonry. The Jewish shofar, or calling horn, is also used in the Masonic lodges. The Templars never ceased to exist. Instead, they infiltrated the lodges of Masons, founded the Rosicrucians, organized and strengthened the order, and turned it into an effective tool. The Templars are not a branch or aspect of Masonry. Nor, as the Masons claim, are they "a little influenced by them." Masonry, along with its symbols, history and ideals, has become a den for the Templars, albeit under a different name.
Riga under Riga
Just a few know of the great secrets about Riga’s underground tunnels connecting the city council and castle, the routes to the monasteries and churches, which allowed important personages to escape from the city in case of great danger.
We have also heard about walkways beneath the River Daugava and underground galleries of hidden treasures. All this can be found in the legends and tales of Riga. Even archaeological excavations and research partially confirm these mythical stories. Sections of underground tunnels and vaulted passages under Riga have already been found.
One of the most respectable historians and archaeologists of Riga, Andris Caune, says that there is a tunnel uniting the river with Riga Castle, and buildings have been found beneath the city streets that could be connected in a unified system. Anyone who can succeed in finding the entrance may be granted untold treasures that have lain hidden for many hundreds of years.
Templars still alive
We met Vladimirs Babajevs, the prior of Knights Templar operating in Latvia, which are at the moment around 20 strong. Babajevs himself is an astrologer and professor of folk medicine and has founded a school of astrology in Riga.
When asked about the origins of his relations with the order, he said he had been interested in it as well as the history of Riga since childhood. As chance would have it, while in Germany at a students’ event, he met a member of the Knights Templar and was surprised that they were still around.
Vladimirs agreed that the Knights Templar should be thanked for establishing Riga, but the reason why we don’t hear about it is that the order was a tightly guarded secret. After the order was officially destroyed, all documentation was eliminated too.
But Gothic cathedrals can be seen all over Europe as evidence of the order’s existence. He said that the Knights Templar first arrived in the Baltic region together with Bishop Albert. And Gothic-style churches in Riga are evidence of that.
He added that during their time in Jerusalem the Knights Templar received the greatest knowledge about astrology, geometry and time. Every church of that era was built according to this knowledge, the locations being decided according to horoscopes and energy flows.
That’s the reason they are so majestic, he explained, giving the feeling that they have been sent from heaven and leaving a resounding influence on the health and beauty of the local inhabitants as well as the city itself.
In Riga, three major cathedrals were built almost simultaneously – Jacob’s, Peter’s and the Dome, all originally built in the early Gothic style typical of the churches created by the Knights Templar. He calls these three churches a magnet that protects the city from all possible enemies.
Babajevs said that one of the symbols of the Templars, two riders on a single horse, meant the power of a single templar – he was fighting as two, thanks to the all the knowledge on his side. But he also believes the legend that part of the Templars’ money and treasures could have been sent here from France. The Knights, he said, were looking forward to the epoch of Aquarius, the time when the Archangel Michael would become their leader.
With the help of the Knights Templar, Riga became a significant economic and cultural centre of that era as the city attracted everyone because of its energy. The order shared its knowledge with one clear purpose – for Riga to become the New Jerusalem.
Babajevs said that the Order of the Knights Templar has been developing over the centuries and that he and his associates are working on creating a new order as the cycle of history goes forwards.
