St. John's Church, Helsinki, Finland

St. John’s Church was built between 1888-1891. It was designed by A. E. Melander, who win the design competition in 1878. St. John’s Church is most remarkable sample of neo-gothic church architecture in Finland. It’s also biggest stone church in Finland with 2600 seats.

The twin towers are 74 metres in height, and the church has excellent acoustics. It’s therefore used for big concerts and events as well as services. The altarpiece shows Saul's conversion and the painting, called A Divine Revelation, is by Eero Järnefelt, brother-in-law to Jean Sibelius.

User Reviews

Balázs Kádár (2 years ago)
Nice building, this inside is very big end authentic

George On tour (2 years ago)
St. John's Church in Helsinki, Finland is a Lutheran church designed by the Swedish architect Adolf Melander in the Gothic Revival style. It is the largest stone church in Finland by seating capacity. Situated in the Ullanlinna district of Helsinki, the church was built between 1888 and 1891, the third Lutheran church in Helsinki, and still the biggest. The twin towers are 74 metres in height, and the church seats 2,600 people and has excellent acoustics, and it is therefore used for big concerts and events as well as services

Magia 2000 Magia2000 (2 years ago)
Nice church in the design district of .... beautiful organ and on Tuesday they play organ at 5pm

Sandro Mathys (2 years ago)
Stunning from the outside, simple yet beautiful on the inside.

t.loliacea (2 years ago)
Beautiful! This church is not frequented by many tourists, another reason for you to visit it - it will be very quiet, as a place of worship should be. Besides, it is in a nice neighborhood and close to the Design Museum.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright kishjar?

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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.

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