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The Porvoo Cathedral was originally made of wood.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 (2 years ago)
Architectonic jewel.

Otso Hyvärinen (2 years ago)
One of the only churches in finland which has 3 stories in it. Very peaceful and harmonic feel to it.

K Kuismanen (2 years ago)
Looks good.

Tinna am More than Blessed Kristine (2 years 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 (2 years 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 kishjar?

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.

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