Audru Church

Audru, Estonia

Audru Church, which was built in 1680, is one of the few 17th century rural churches left in Estonia. It was built under the patronage of great church builder Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie, who built 37 churches in Sweden.

The baroque-style plastered church has a tall and slim gothic tower. A beautiful vaulted ceiling hangs above the spacious church hall and the church's benches, pulpit, altar wall and grid, and the organ balcony on the western wall all date back to the 19th century. Lady of the manor Pilar von Pilchau donated Gustav Biermann’s altar painting 'Christ on the Cross' to the church in 1872.

References:

Comments

Your name


Address

Tõstamaa mnt, Audru, Estonia
See all sites in Audru

Details

Founded: 1680
Category: Religious sites in Estonia
Historical period: Part of the Swedish Empire (Estonia)

More Information

visitparnu.ee
www.rannatee.ee

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


St. Elizabeth's Lutheran Church (9,1 km)
Pärnu Town Hall (9 km)
Red Tower (9,2 km)
St. Catherine's Church (8,9 km)
Tallinn Gate (8,8 km)
Pärnu Museum (9,4 km)
Pärnu Kuursaal (9 km)
Ammende Villa (8,8 km)
Kihnu Lighthouse (41,6 km)

User Reviews

Oskar Susi (6 months ago)
A wooden church was built in Audru in 1636 by the von Thurn family, which was the first Lutheran church in Livonia and the whole of the Baltics. The church was consecrated on October 9, 1636 and began to bear the name of the Church of the Holy Cross in Audru. The current stone church was built on the same site, instead of the old wooden church in 1677-1680. The construction was led by Latvian master Jürgen Grabing. The church is surrounded by an arboretum founded by forest scientist Raimond Erik Prentsel in 1970-1996, which is one of the most unique in the Baltic and Nordic countries in terms of species richness. In the church garden there is a stone with a memorial plaque: Aleksander Kunileid 1845-1875 - the pioneer of Estonian choral singing; Friedrich Saebelmann 1851-1911 - "The Most Beautiful Songs" wizard
Aivar Mõnuvere (6 months ago)
The word of God is holy
Helina S. (15 months ago)
An interesting arboretum
Kaspar Kase (22 months ago)
Nice church, but the door was locked and I couldn't get in
Artur Adamson (2 years ago)
Beautiful church, nice park, lots of interesting plants.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Rhodes, The Island of Knights
Photo from Flickr, copyright Ana Paula Hirama

Historic Site of the week

Holy Trinity Column

The Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc is a Baroque monument built in 1716–1754 in honour of God. The main purpose was a spectacular celebration of Catholic Church and faith, partly caused by feeling of gratitude for ending a plague, which struck Moravia between 1713 and 1715. The column was also understood to be an expression of local patriotism, since all artists and master craftsmen working on this monument were Olomouc citizens, and almost all depicted saints were connected with the city of Olomouc in some way. The column is the biggest Baroque sculptural group in the Czech Republic. In 2000 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.

The column is dominated by gilded copper sculptures of the Holy Trinity accompanied by the Archangel Gabriel on the top and the Assumption of the Virgin beneath it.

The base of the column, in three levels, is surrounded by 18 more stone sculptures of saints and 14 reliefs in elaborate cartouches. At the uppermost stage are saints connected with Jesus’ earth life – his mother’s parents St. Anne and St. Joachim, his foster-father St. Joseph, and St. John the Baptist, who was preparing his coming – who are accompanied by St. Lawrence and St. Jerome, saints to whom the chapel in the Olomouc town hall was dedicated. Three reliefs represent the Three theological virtues Faith, Hope, and Love.

Below them, the second stage is dedicated to Moravian saints St. Cyril and St. Methodius, who came to Great Moravia to spread Christianity in 863, St. Blaise, in whose name one of the main Olomouc churches is consecrated, and patrons of neighbouring Bohemia St. Adalbert of Prague and St. John of Nepomuk, whose following was very strong there as well.

In the lowest stage one can see the figures of an Austrian patron St. Maurice and a Bohemian patron St. Wenceslas, in whose names two important Olomouc churches were consecrated, another Austrian patron St. Florian, who was also viewed as a protector against various disasters, especially fire, St. John of Capistrano, who used to preach in Olomouc, St. Anthony of Padua, a member of the Franciscan Order, which owned an important monastery in Olomouc, and St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a patron of students. His sculpture showed that Olomouc was very proud of its university. Reliefs of all twelve apostles are placed among these sculptures.

The column also houses a small chapel inside with reliefs depicting Cain's offering from his crop, Abel's offering of firstlings of his flock, Noah's first burnt offering after the Flood, Abraham's offering of Isaac and of a lamb, and Jesus' death. The cities of Jerusalem and Olomouc can be seen in the background of the last mentioned relief.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2021 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.