Tampereen tuomiokirkko

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

Tampere Cathedral is one of the main monuments of National Romantic architecture and painting in Finland at the beginning of the 20th century.

The exterior of Tampere Cathedral is marked by a picturesque grouping of volumes, broken into many parts, with three towers of different heights and numerous gables. The facing material of the outer walls is light grey Uusikaupunki granite laid in "squared rubble" with overlapping courses. The idea behind the top of the main tower was the architect Lars Sonck's image of the tower of the medieval stone church in Finström, his birthplace. The enclosing wall and the southern and western gateway vaults around the church are built of untreated, heavy natural stone.

The spacious church hall is almost square in plan, and its ground plan shows the influence of contemporary American and English preaching churches. The interior is dominated by a star vault supported on sturdy granite piers, whose outlines are echoed by the galleries on three sides. The fixed furnishings of the church, including the pulpit, altar, pews and light fittings, were designed in Sonck's office. The architect Valter Jung assisted Sonck in the interior design. The metalwork is by Eric O.W. Ehrström.

The painted decoration of the church was done by Magnus Enckell and Hugo Simberg. Enckell painted a large fresco on the Resurrection theme on the back wall of the altar. Simberg was responsible for the rest of the painted decoration of the church hall, and also designed the stained glass windows and the stucco decoration of the pulpit. The central vault has a serpent that follows the shape of the ribs, and its wings fill part of the vault webbing. The curved gallery railing has a rose and briar vine that undulates at irregular intervals, supported by twelve boys. Simberg's best-loved paintings, Kuoleman puutarha and Haavoittunut enkeli, are separate pictures on the end wall, one on each side of the chancel.

History

When the city of Tampere expanded its area to the east of Tammerkoski, the construction of a new church also became topical. A design competition for the church was held in 1899, and it was won by Lars Sonck's proposal Aeternitas. Construction work began in 1902. At Sonck's initiative, a decision was made at the end of 1903 to commission the painted decoration of the church from Magnus Enckell and Hugo Simberg. The church was completed in 1906. The building, originally named Johanneksen kirkko, was raised to the status of cathedral in 1923, after the episcopal see moved to Tampere following the establishment of the Diocese of Tampere.

The church underwent an extensive repair in 1981-1983, when, among other things, the former firewood cellar was converted into a rehearsal space for the choir, the parish hall on the south side of the church was renovated, and new choir organs were installed in the north gallery. The repair also included remediation of moisture damage in the church and conservation of wall surfaces and artworks. The extensive repair of the pointing and ventilation of the stone-structured outer cladding was carried out in 2006-2007.