Kaarli Lutheran Church in Tallinn

Visited March 30, 2013

Charles XI Lutheran Church, or Kaarli Kirik, is Tallinn's grandest 19th-century church, and the only one in Tallinn with twin steeples.

It is a neo-Roman style church built over twenty years from 1862 to 1882 as a long overdue replacement for the original Kaarli Church. That church was founded in 1670 on the order of Sweden's King Charles XI, but like many wooden structures outside the city wall, the first Kaarli Church burned down during the Great Northern War in the early 1700s.

The present limestone church was built by architect Otto Pius Hippius from St. Petersburg using a special arch technique that gives it have a vast, open interior. It can seat 1,500, and I can attest to its wonderful acoustics...I once sat (hid) in the back and could hear perfectly.

According to Tallinn's tourism website, Kaarli Church is home to the first Estonian fresco, “Come to Me,” painted in 1879 by famed Tallinn artist Johann Köler. The church also boasts the country's largest church organ, installed in 1924. Services are still held at Kaarli Church on Sundays at 10am, and in fact, this is actually the only church I have attended services in since coming to Estonia. Well, that is sort of true. I did attend a concert in Niguliste Kirik, but it wasn't a church service and the church is actually a museum now.

But I have been to a Thanksgiving service at Kaarli. All in Estonian. It was beautiful, but challenging.

Sadly, I couldn't get inside Saturday. So I was only able to get exterior pictures.

Orthodox Cathedral of St Simeon and the Prophetess Hanna in Tallinn

Visited March 30, 2013

This is a church I have never noticed. It is on a street I have been down, but if I ever saw it, it just didn't jump out.

The Orthodox Cathedral of St Simeon and the Prophetess Hanna was begun in 1752 and completed in 1755.

It is located down near the harbor on the route I usually take to catch the ferry to Helsinki. It is a pretty little wooden church that looks like it came out of a fairy tale. It was build on the initiative of Russian sailors, and it the second Orthodox church to have sprung up as part of the suburban building boom that followed the Great Northern War. The first, as you know, was the Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God (Kazan Icon) that I wrote about yesterday.

The coastline in this area was considerably closer to the city then than it is now, owing to the land being filled it, so this church was practically on the edge of the water, and legend has it that rubble from shipwrecks was used for landfill for the church.

Like most churches in Estonia, the building was seriously damaged during Soviet times, when it was turned into a sports hall. During that time, it lost its bell tower and onion dome, but the church was fortunatley restored after Estonia re-independence. Since 2001, an Estonian Orthodox congregation has been active there, and they have services on Sundays at 10am.

Luckily for me, this church was open, so I was able to get some shots of the beautiful interior as well.

Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God (Kazan Icon)

Visited March 30, 2013

I see this church nearly every day, but I had never taken a picture of it. I had been told, incorrectly as it turns out, that it was built in 1901. So it was just outside of my date range. Still, it was one I planned to do a post on anyway, just because it was cool looking. It was just filed under "when I get around to it."

With a little spare time on Easter weekend, I decided to look it up on the internet and wander over to take some pictures. It is only a few blocks from my apartment.

Turns out, the Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God (Kazan Icon), was not built in 1901.

It was built in 1721, and is the oldest specifically orthodox church in Estonia.

The church was the first church to be completed after the Great Northern War in the early 18th century, a conflict that ended with Estonia under tsarist Russian rule. After the war, Tallinn's suburbs were growing quickly as the town was absorbing more and more Russian immigrants. And so churches like Our Lady of Kazan were built.

Even the repairs are older than 1901...the church was repaired extensively in the 19th century, giving it a neo-classical façade and interior. And sevices are still held there, on Saturdays at 5pm and Sundays at 8am. I even saw a priest in the churchyard (you can see him in the bottom picture).

St Nicholas Orthodox Church in Tallinn

Visited November 4, 2012

This is the second church I visited along my walk in the Old City last month. Again, I didn't get a chance to go inside.

St. Nicholas is an Orthodox Church built in 1827.

This is the first classical church building in Tallinn, but was preceded by a church for Orthodox merchants located on the same site in the Middle Ages. The church has the oldest Estonian iconostasis, which is a sculptured wall, this one consecrated by the Russian Tsarina Sophia Alekseyevna in 1678.

From the pictures on the website, the inside is amazing.

St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Tallinn

Visited November 4, 2012

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...I have taken a few (but not many) church pictures but haven't had a chance to post.

So here is one I spotted while walking around Tallinn's Old City.

This is the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral, built in 1844.

The Cathedral is a Roman-Catholic pseudo-Gothic church with a neo-Classical facade. It was built on the foundation of the former refectory of a medieval Dominican monastery. The altar painting “The Ascension of Virgin Mary” is apparently a gift from Bavarian King Ludwig I, but I wasn't able to get inside to take pictures.

Niguliste Church in Tallinn

Visited May 28, 2012

Right off of Vabaduse Valjak (Freedom Square) is the Niguliste Church, one of the Old City's more recognizable sights. My first time there was in preparation for the September 11 10th anniversary concert.

Niguliste is no longer a church, but it used to be. It was finished in 1230...inside is this amazing tapestry that is nearly as old. The church was particially destroyed by the Soviets in the bombing of Tallinn.

Lutheran Church of Holy Spirit in Tallinn

Visited May 27, 2012

The Lutheran Church of Holy Spirit in Tallinn was built in the 13th century and is near town square. The clock on the side is a well known landmark in the city.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn

Visited December 3, 2011

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is probably one of the most recognizable churches in Tallinn. It was built in 1900, so really it shouldn't be part of my project. But I have walked past it so many times and it is so beautiful, I just had to include it.

St. John's Armenian Apostolic Church in Tallinn

Visited August 21, 2011

I actually started taking pictures of churches in Estonia before I thought about making a project of it. In fact, I took my first picture of a church on August 21, just three days after I arrived in country last year.

The picture I took was of St. John's Armenian Apostolic Church.

The church is actually located in my neighborhood, which is a little odd considering it was build between the 15th and 18th centuries and my neighborhood is pretty modern. Luckily, it is protected, so while the skyscrapers go up around it, this little church soldiers on. It has been the home for St. Gregory's congregation since 1993.