Church of the Transformation of the Lord in Lümanda

Visited February 27, 2013

So I know it has been a while since I posted. I have had two problems. The first is, I have been too busy to go see many churches. And the second is, of those churches I have seen, I have been too busy to post about them. Good Friday seems like an appropriate time to start catching up.

So I actually saw the Church of the Transformation of the Lord in Lümanda a month ago. I was doing regional outreach to Saaremaa, and this chuch was near a school I spoke to about Black History Month.

The church was constructed in 1870. I don't know much more about it than that, but it is a nice little church out in the country.

Lutheran Church of Blessed Virgin Mary in Jõelähtme

Visited: February 3, 2013

I have passed by the Church of Blessed Virgin Mary in Jõelähtme several times on my way to Narva, but have never had the time to stop. I finally managed to today on my way back from the Jagala Waterfall (which is currently frozen...very cool).

The original church is among the oldest in Estonia, an old wooden structure built in the 1220s. The current building was constructed in the 14th century, with a choir room added in the 15th. The steeple was added in 1912 to replace the previous one that was destroyed by fire in 1910.

Prophet Elijah Orthodox Chapel in Malvaste, Hiiumaa

Visited: Not yet!

This post is totally cheating...for two reasons. First, it was built in 1906, so really it falls outside my established date range. It is too new.

And second, I haven't actually visited it yet.

My section runs the Embassy's Regional Outreach program, where we send teams of one American and one Estonian out into the Estonian counties. And this picture was snapped by one of my staff members during a visit to the island of Hiiumaa because she knew I liked churches and this one is just cool.

Prophet Elijah Orthodox Chapel is a simple, one room building with a straw roof on its chapel section. It was actually moved to the site in 1925.

I do plan to visit. I'll update this post when I do!

EDIT:
I am a cheater no more! I visited this church on June 14, 2014 during a trip to Hiiumaa. So finally I have some pictures of my own!

 

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.

St Nicholas’ Lutheran Church in Põltsamaa

Visited October 6, 2012

This is clearly a place I need to go back to. We were tired after our trip to Tartu, and only stopped for like half a second. But this church is actually attached to a castle. So yeah, going back for a better look!

This is St. Nicholas' Lutheran Church in Põltsamaa. The website says it was built in 1633, 1751 and 1952.

The last rebuild was after damage from World War II, and the congregation built it from the ruins.

And there is castle. I may have mentioned that! Põltsamaa's castle was built in 1272, and from 1570 and 1578, Livonia's King Magnus lived there. It was pillaged repeatedly through the centuries, and finally by Woldemar Johann von Lauw in the 18th century as a grand rococo-style palace. The church was built into its cannon tower, and both burned down in 1941 World War II.

Yep, definitely a trip back.

St. Anne's Church in Anna

Visited October 6, 2012

I know my project drives my wife nuts!

We were taking a little day trip to Tartu because she has never been.

And of course, on the way down, I yelled, "Look, a church!" and veered off the road to get pictures.

She of course thinks I am nuts.

St. Anne's Lutheran Church in Anna was built in 1780, although there has been a church at the site longer as is evidenced by the gravestones. Sadly, it was locked, so I couldn't get pictures of the inside, which is apparently beautiful.