Kallion kirkko (Berghälls kyrka)

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

The grey granite Kallio church, designed by architect Lars Sonck, rises as the monumental urban terminus of Helsinki's longest street axis running south-north through the centre of the city (Unioninkatu-Siltasaarenkatu).

The church is cruciform in plan (Latin cross). A tall tower rises above the choir, beside which are the parish premises, with their chapels and offices. The vestry is in a semicircular apse attached to the southern gable end. The church is surrounded by a park-like area with steps and terraces. The façades of the symmetrical, compact church are clad in Uusikaupunki grey granite of varying degrees of roughness. The blocks are laid freely in accordance with the squared rubble method. The wall surfaces are decorated partly with abstract and partly with nature-themed stylised ornament, in the same stone. The tower holds seven church bells, for which Jean Sibelius composed a chorale melody in 1911.

The wide central part of the three-aisled nave is covered by a large barrel vault; through its arches, the galleries that surround the nave on three sides open onto the central aisle. The altar bears a crucifix carved in pine by sculptor Hannes Autere, and beneath it a relief with the inscription "Tulkaa minun tyköni kaikki työtätekevät ja raskautetut". The large brass chandeliers by Paavo Tynell date from 1932.

History

Kallio church was sited on its building plot as early as 1891, in connection with the refinement of the Kallio leasehold plot division. From then on, the church on the hill, and the Siltasaarenkatu line leading down from the hill as a continuation of Unioninkatu (the street line in accordance with Helsinki's town plan of 1812), appeared as the starting point of Kallio's planning.

Northern European urban planning debate was lively at the end of the 19th century. In growing industrial cities such as Helsinki, architects wanted to take planning from engineers and make it a task for architects. The finishing of the 1901 town plan for Kallio was influenced by architect Gustaf Nyström, as well as by the contemporaneous debate on a plan that valued the terrain of Töölö and varied street views. Parts of the central monumental urban spatial composition of the Kallio town plan were realised, such as Kallio church with its park, and the main building of the Finnish-language työväenopisto, which lies on the same axis as the church.

Settlement and population density in Kallio increased rapidly in the late 19th century. As the population grew, it was decided in 1905 to divide Helsinki's Finnish- and Swedish-speaking town parish into six parishes, from May Day 1907 onwards. At the same time, a decision was made to build a new church on the north side of Pitkäsilta. The architectural competition held for its design, and the re-run competition among three prizewinners based on it, was won by architect Lars Sonck. The church was consecrated for use in 1912.

The original choir arrangement of Kallio church was renewed in 1955-1956 (Antti Salmenlinna). The organ, which had been in the upper part of the choir above the altar, was moved to the rear gallery. In 1986 an interior restoration was carried out under the direction of architect Heikki Havas and interior architect Tauno Kivinen, when, among other things, a columbarium vault was made beneath the church. The re-fixing of the granite masonry of the outer walls was carried out in 1998-2001.