Top Historic Sights in Joensuu, Finland
Explore the historic highlights of Joensuu
Joensuu Church
The brick-made Joensuu Church was built in 1903 and designed by a Finnish church architect Josef Stenbäck. The church is in the Gothic Revival style, but it also has some features of Jugendstil. The high tower located in the southeast corner is the bell tower and in the lower southwest tower is the organ. It was built in 1969 by Organ Factory of Kangasala and has 36 stops. The church has 1000 seats. On the altar is a pai ...St. Nicholas Church
The Orthodox St. Nicholas Church of Joensuu was completed in 1887. It’s one of the most significant samples of Orthodox wooden church architecture in Finland. The most valuable artefact is the iconostasis painted in St. Petersburg. The original six bells are also casted there.Kiihtelysvaara Church
UPDATE: The church was completely destroyed by fire at 23.9.2018. The wooden church of Kiihtelysvaara is the oldest church in North Carelia province. It was built in 1769-1770 to replace the previous decayed one made in 1680s. The building master was Henrik Häger. Interior of the church was mainly renovated in 1966-67. The bell tower, built in 1856, is the third on site. Two earlier ones were destroyed by fire.Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Lübeck Cathedral
Lübeck Cathedral is a large brick-built Lutheran cathedral in Lübeck, Germany and part of the Lübeck UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1173 Henry the Lion founded the cathedral to serve the Diocese of Lübeck, after the transfer in 1160 of the bishop's seat from Oldenburg in Holstein under bishop Gerold. The then Romanesque cathedral was completed around 1230, but between 1266 and 1335 it was converted into a Gothic-style building with side-aisles raised to the same height as the main aisle.
On the night of Palm Sunday (28–29 March) 1942 a Royal Air Force bombing raid destroyed a fifth of the town centre. Several bombs fell in the area around the church, causing the eastern vault of the quire to collapse and destroying the altar which dated from 1696. A fire from the neighbouring cathedral museum spread to the truss of the cathedral, and around noon on Palm Sunday the towers collapsed. An Arp Schnitger organ was lost in the flames. Nevertheless, a relatively large portion of the internal fittings was saved, including the cross and almost all of the medieval polyptychs. In 1946 a further collapse, of the gable of the north transept, destroyed the vestibule almost completely.
Reconstruction of the cathedral took several decades, as greater priority was given to the rebuilding of the Marienkirche. Work was completed only in 1982.
The cathedral is unique in that at 105 m, it is shorter than the tallest church in the city. This is the consequence of a power struggle between the church and the guilds.
The 17 m crucifix is the work of the Lübeck artist Bernt Notke. It was commissioned by the bishop of Lübeck, Albert II. Krummendiek, and erected in 1477. The carvings which decorate the rood screen are also by Notke.
Since the war, the famous altar of Hans Memling has been in the medieval collection of the St. Annen Museum, but notable polyptychs remain in the cathedral.
In the funeral chapels of the southern aisle are Baroque-era memorials by the Flemish sculptor Thomas Quellinus.