St Mary's Church

Turku, Finland

The St. Mary's Church is a medieval stone church located in Maaria. There are no records as to when the present church was built, but the work was probably started in the mid or late 15th century. According to Markus Hiekkanen, the church was probably built in the 1440s. On the basis of the style of the closets, the gables were constructed about 50 years later.

There are medieval limestone paintings on the walls, which are not common to other places in Finland. The most valuable artefacts are the wooden alter cabinet and large altarpiece depicting Christ on the cross.

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My grandfather, Pastor Alpo Setala, was the Pastor of this church during the years approximately 1930 - 1947. He then moved my father and the rest of the family to the United States.


Details

Founded: 1440
Category: Religious sites in Finland
Historical period: Middle Ages (Finland)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

HAGEMA45634 (4 years ago)
Put up candles
Marko Petteri Tuomainen (6 years ago)
Very fascinating church! Here you can almost touch medieval times.
MickishDK (6 years ago)
Very interesting place to walk around in, alot of old stones and history to be read.
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Visby Cathedral

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.