Swedish St. Michael's Church, Tallinn, Estonia

This small church on Rüütli street has been the spiritual home for generations of Estonian Swedes, an ethnic group that's been present in Tallinn since the Middle Ages. The location had originally been an almshouse for the city's poor, but in 1733 the tsarist government gave it to the Swedish congregation, which been left without its own church since the Great Northern War.

During Soviet times the building was converted into a sports hall and fell into disrepair, but was renovated and reconsecrated in 2002. It now has a congregation of around 200, and continues to hold services in Swedish. In addition to its Baroque altar by Joachim Armbrust and a Baroque pulpit, the church has a unique baptistery created by famed sculptor Christian Ackermann in 1680.

Reference: Tallinn Tourism

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Aleksandr Boltyshev (7 months ago)
Шведская церковь Святого Михаила (эст. Rootsi-Mihkli kirik, швед. Svenska S:t Mikaelskyrkan) — церковь, находящаяся в историческом центре Таллина, улица Рюйтли, д. 9. Памятник средневековой архитектуры. В настоящее время принадлежит лютеранскому приходу, входящему в ЭЕЛЦ. История В 1249 году в Таллине был основан женский монастырь ордена цистерцианцев. В конце XIV или начале XV века монастырская капелла Святого Венцеля была основательно расширена. В 1631 году имущество (в том числе строения) монастыря были секуляризированы: в части зданий расположилась мужская гимназия (ныне — гимназия Густава Адольфа), в другой части — типография, а церковь стала собственностью шведского гарнизона. В 1716 году по приказу Меншикова церковь была реорганизована в русскую гарнизонную церковь (в 1732 году освящена как православная Преображенская церковь). Шведы были вынуждены собираться в другом здании — в госпитале иоаннитов. Но и это здание у шведов отобрали после Второй мировой войны — здесь расположилась спортшкола. После визита в 1992 году в Эстонию короля Швеции здание вновь передали Церкви. В 2002 году отремонтированное и реконструированное здание было освящено.

Nadine G (2 years ago)
Very old historical place in the heart of Vanalinn. Worth taking a shall if intended to stay for longer. Cold in winter, but makes you feel like 300 years old times.

Jeremy Swartz (2 years ago)
Beautiful church located in Old Town. It is another church that had been well preserved.

Kirill Ivanov (3 years ago)
Super

Federico Robello (3 years ago)
Nice place to sightseeing going in the center direction

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Porta Nigra

The Porta Nigra (Latin for black gate) is the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta.

The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone between 186 and 200 AD. The original gate consisted of two four-storied towers, projecting as near semicircles on the outer side. A narrow courtyard separated the two gate openings on either side. For unknown reasons, however, the construction of the gate remained unfinished. For example, the stones at the northern (outer) side of the gate were never abraded, and the protruding stones would have made it impossible to install movable gates. Nonetheless, the gate was used for several centuries until the end of the Roman era in Trier.

In Roman times, the Porta Nigra was part of a system of four city gates, one of which stood at each side of the roughly rectangular Roman city. The Porta Nigra guarded the northern entry to the Roman city, while the Porta Alba (White Gate) was built in the east, the Porta Media (Middle Gate) in the south, and the Porta Inclyta (Famous Gate) in the west, next to the Roman bridge across the Moselle. The gates stood at the ends of the two main streets of the Roman Trier, one of which led north-south and the other east-west. Of these gates, only the Porta Nigra still exists today.

In the early Middle Ages the Roman city gates were no longer used for their original function and their stones were taken and reused for other buildings. Also iron and lead braces were broken out of the walls of the Porta Nigra for reuse. Traces of this destruction are still clearly visible on the north side of the gate.

After 1028, the Greek monk Simeon lived as a hermit in the ruins of the Porta Nigra. After his death (1035) and sanctification, the Simeonstift monastery was built next to the Porta Nigra to honor him. Saving it from further destruction, the Porta Nigra was transformed into a church: The inner court of the gate was roofed and intermediate ceilings were inserted. The two middle storeys of the former gate were converted into church naves: the upper storey being for the monks and the lower storey for the general public. The ground floor with the large gates was sealed, and a large outside staircase was constructed alongside the south side (the town side) of the gate, up to the lower storey of the church. A small staircase led further up to the upper storey. The church rooms were accessible through former windows of the western tower of the Porta Nigra that were enlarged to become entrance doors (still visible today). The top floor of the western tower was used as church tower, the eastern tower was leveled, and an apse added at its east side. An additional gate - the much smaller Simeon Gate - was built adjacent to the East side of the Porta Nigra and served as a city gate in medieval times.

In 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the church in the Porta Nigra and the monastery beside it, along with the vast majority of Trier"s numerous churches and monasteries. On his visit to Trier in 1804, Napoleon ordered that the Porta Nigra be converted back to its Roman form. Only the apse was kept; but the eastern tower was not rebuilt to its original height. Local legend has it that Napoleon originally wanted to completely tear down the church, but locals convinced him that the church had actually been a Gaulish festival hall before being turned into a church. Another version of the story is that they told him about its Roman origins, persuading him to convert the gate back to its original form.

In 1986 the Porta Nigra was designated a World Heritage Site, along with other Roman monuments in Trier and its surroundings. The modern appearance of the Porta Nigra goes back almost unchanged to the reconstruction ordered by Napoleon. At the south side of the Porta Nigra, remains of Roman columns line the last 100 m of the street leading to the gate. Positioned where they had stood in Roman times, they give a slight impression of the aspect of the original Roman street that was lined with colonnades. The Porta Nigra, including the upper floors, is open to visitors.

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