Joensuun luterilainen ja ortodoksinen kirkko

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

Joensuu Lutheran brick church and Orthodox wooden church form a cultural-historical axis pair reflecting the spiritual life of the town. The Lutheran church is located at the southern end of Kirkkokatu, a street lined by four rows of birches that runs across the grid plan area, on the open Louhela hill bordering the Pielisjoki. At the northern end of Kirkkokatu is the Orthodox church dedicated to the memory of Saint Nikolaos.

The neo-Gothic brick church, with Art Nouveau features, is broad in its main body. At the entrance end is an asymmetrically placed tall tower; the long sides have series of transverse gables. The large-windowed church nave is three-aisled and vaulted with star vaults. The painted ornaments of the ribs and vault surfaces are leafy motifs of tree species by master painter A. Grönroos. The fixed interior, pulpit, pews, gallery railings and light fittings are exceptionally well preserved. The altarpiece depicting the Crucifixion was painted by architect Ilmari Launis in 1910. For the parish's 100th anniversary in 1952, stained-glass paintings designed by artist Antti Salmenlinna were donated to the chancel windows.

The Orthodox church is a west-tower cross-shaped church with unequal arms. The altar room is five-sided. The crossing is emphasised by a low octagonal central tower with an onion dome. The west tower, like the central tower, is polygonal and ends in an onion dome. The wooden carvings on the eaves and window bargeboards, and the open galleries supported by columns, emphasise the church's decorative exterior architecture. The holy images of the iconostasis, painted white and with gilded ornaments, originate from Pietari.

History

The Lutheran parish of Joensuu belonged to the mother parish of Liperi until 1857, and afterwards to the mother parish of Kontiolahti. The Orthodox parish was established in 1893 from parts of the parishes of Taipale and Ilomantsi.

Kirkkokatu was given its location in the town plan in 1867. Planning for the Lutheran church began in 1896. The site had already been reserved for the church in the town plan drawn up for the town in 1848. Drawings for the church were ordered from architect Josef Stenbäck. The foundation stone was laid in 1901, and the church was completed two years later.

The Orthodox church was built to designs by diocesan architect G. I. Karpov in 1886-1887. The building project was promoted by some Joensuu merchants together with Orthodox farmers from the surrounding area. Pyhä Synodi in Pietari assisted the construction with a considerable donation.