Details
Founded: 1904Category: Religious sites in Estonia
Historical period: Part of the Russian Empire (Estonia)
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There has been a church in Värska since 16th century. The present St. George’s Orthodox Church was completed in 1904. The neo-Historical Orthodox church with a crossing cupola has a beautiful contrast between stones and brick cornices. The images of the iconostasis date from the time when the church was built. The famous Seto folk singer Anne Vabarna and the captain of the steamship Aurora Ivan Fjodorov have been buried in the churchyard.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.