Porvoo Cathedral, Porvoo, Finland

The Porvoo Cathedral was originally made of wood. The first stone walls were built between 1410 and 1420 and in 1450 the church was expanded four meters towards east and six meters towards south.

The cathedral has been destroyed by fire numerous times; in 1508 by Danish and in 1571, 1590, and 1708 by Russian forces. On May 29, 2006, the outer roof collapsed after arson, however with the inner ceiling undamaged and the cathedral interiors intact. The Cathedral was reopened on 2 July 2008.

Porvoo Cathedral is situated in the middle of Porvoo well-preserved and beautiful old town, which is popular tourist attraction particurarly in summer season.

User Reviews

Markkanen Lp (7 months ago)
Architectonic jewel.

Otso Hyvärinen (7 months ago)
One of the only churches in finland which has 3 stories in it. Very peaceful and harmonic feel to it.

K Kuismanen (7 months ago)
Looks good.

Tinna am More than Blessed Kristine (7 months ago)
This cathedral is an ancient one, and looks like was made just yesterday! From outside looks a little boring, but inside its fabulous, classical artistic ancient finishing and looks so awesome, it's just amazing, it's a shame that it's not well utilized by the locals. Then there is this very short door that's one of its kind on an adjustant building, I loved it's serenity, nice and cool place to connect with the inner yourself.

Lisa T (12 months ago)
Charming Village - delightful cafes & shops but none of the historic buildings, museums or churches are open. The online sites show they are all open but, all were closed/locked....Disappointing if you want more than shopping. Must be wonderful in the summer.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Alexxx1979

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Church of the Savior on Blood

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main sights of St. Petersburg. The church was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated and was dedicated in his memory. Construction began in 1883 under Alexander III, as a memorial to his father, Alexander II. Work progressed slowly and was finally completed during the reign of Nicholas II in 1907. Funding was provided by the Imperial family with the support of many private donors.

Architecturally, the Cathedral differs from St. Petersburg's other structures. The city's architecture is predominantly Baroque and Neoclassical, but the Savior on Blood harks back to medieval Russian architecture in the spirit of romantic nationalism. It intentionally resembles the 17th-century Yaroslavl churches and the celebrated St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.

The Church contains over 7500 square metres of mosaics — according to its restorers, more than any other church in the world. The interior was designed by some of the most celebrated Russian artists of the day — including Viktor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Nesterov and Mikhail Vrubel — but the church's chief architect, Alfred Alexandrovich Parland, was relatively little-known (born in St. Petersburg in 1842 in a Baltic-German Lutheran family). Perhaps not surprisingly, the Church's construction ran well over budget, having been estimated at 3.6 million roubles but ending up costing over 4.6 million. The walls and ceilings inside the Church are completely covered in intricately detailed mosaics — the main pictures being biblical scenes or figures — but with very fine patterned borders setting off each picture.

In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, the church was ransacked and looted, badly damaging its interior. The Soviet government closed the church in the early 1930s. During the Second World War when many people were starving due to the Siege of Leningrad by Nazi German military forces, the church was used as a temporary morgue for those who died in combat and from starvation and illness. The church suffered significant damage. After the war, it was used as a warehouse for vegetables, leading to the sardonic name of Saviour on Potatoes.

In July 1970, management of the Church passed to Saint Isaac's Cathedral (then used as a highly profitable museum) and proceeds from the Cathedral were funneled back into restoring the Church. It was reopened in August 1997, after 27 years of restoration, but has not been reconsecrated and does not function as a full-time place of worship; it is a Museum of Mosaics. Even before the Revolution it never functioned as a public place of worship; having been dedicated exclusively to the memory of the assassinated tsar, the only services were panikhidas (memorial services). The Church is now one of the main tourist attractions in St. Petersburg.

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