Visited: June 14, 2014
Mänspe Lutheran Chapel was built in 1908. It used to belong to the parrish of Emmaste.
Mänspe Lutheran Chapel was built in 1908. It used to belong to the parrish of Emmaste.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Orthodox Church of the Nativity of Theotokos
Visited: June 14, 2014
Orthodox Church of the Nativity of Theotokos in Kuriste was built in 1890, perhaps the first orthodox church on the island. The building stones were brought from Riga.
Orthodox Church of the Nativity of Theotokos in Kuriste was built in 1890, perhaps the first orthodox church on the island. The building stones were brought from Riga.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Kassari Lutheran Chapel
Visited: June 14, 2014
We almost missed this church, but the second time we passed the sign after returning from dinner at Lest ja Lammas, we decided to drive down the little road it was on the check it out.
The congregation at Kassari Lutheran Chapel dates to the 1600s, and this building was built in the 1700s and renovated in 1801.
Check out the thatched roof!
We almost missed this church, but the second time we passed the sign after returning from dinner at Lest ja Lammas, we decided to drive down the little road it was on the check it out.
The congregation at Kassari Lutheran Chapel dates to the 1600s, and this building was built in the 1700s and renovated in 1801.
Check out the thatched roof!
Monday, June 16, 2014
St Martin’s Lutheran Church in Käina
Visited: June 14, 2014
St Martin’s Lutheran Church in Käina is just ruins now.
The church was built around 1500 to replace the wooded church built in the 1200s. You can see from the picture from the sign though that it was once beautiful. Even the ruins are beautiful.
The church was built on unstable clay, and so the arches on the side are to shore up the walls. The building was burned in 1941 by German tracer bullets. It is being conserved in ruins by the congregation, which still meets.
St Martin’s Lutheran Church in Käina is just ruins now.
The church was built around 1500 to replace the wooded church built in the 1200s. You can see from the picture from the sign though that it was once beautiful. Even the ruins are beautiful.
The church was built on unstable clay, and so the arches on the side are to shore up the walls. The building was burned in 1941 by German tracer bullets. It is being conserved in ruins by the congregation, which still meets.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Emmanuel's Lutheran Church in Emmaste
Visited: June 14, 2014
I finally got a chance to get out and see some more churches, this time courtesy of a weekend trip to Hiiumaa, Estonia's second largest island.
This is Emmanuel's Lutheran Church in Emmaste.
I finally got a chance to get out and see some more churches, this time courtesy of a weekend trip to Hiiumaa, Estonia's second largest island.
This is Emmanuel's Lutheran Church in Emmaste.
The church was built in 1867.
During the first World War, the bells were removed and melted down, probably for cannon balls. A man named Harju Tooma Johannes replaced the bells free of charge, asking only that they be tolled at his funeral. During World War II, the bells were hidden for fear they might be melted down again. Sixty years later, they were found and restored to the bell tower.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
St Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Pilistvere
Visited March 27, 2014
It has been a while since I have been able to visit any new churches, so I was really excited that as part of our America Days in Viljandi, I was able to visit St Andrew's Lutheran Church in Pilistvere.
Luckier still, we got a tour given by the pastor. Unluckily, I forgot my camera so my iPhone had to do.
The congregation here dates to 1222, just three years after the first Christians came to the area. People had been living in Pilistvere for at least 2000 years, so the pastor thinks the area was already special to people.
Construction started on the church in the late 1200s and it was completed by the mid-1300s. The tower was restored recently (late 90s).
The pulpit with spiral pillars and carved statues was done by Thomas Öhman in 1686, and the painting that serves as an altarpiece, ”Christ on the Cross,” was painted by Baltiv-Germanic artist Sally von Kügelen in 1901.
The church also has a resident cat!
Just beyond the church, we visited the Stones of Sorrow. It is a memorial to all those lost during the brutal deportations and executions during Soviet times. People bring stones to the place and it serves as a gravesite for them to visit if they don't know where their relatives' final resting places are. I wished I had had a stone with me to place at the memorial for my ancestor who was deported to Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears. He didn't survive the trip, and like the Estonians, he has no grave for his descendants to visit.
It has been a while since I have been able to visit any new churches, so I was really excited that as part of our America Days in Viljandi, I was able to visit St Andrew's Lutheran Church in Pilistvere.
Luckier still, we got a tour given by the pastor. Unluckily, I forgot my camera so my iPhone had to do.
The congregation here dates to 1222, just three years after the first Christians came to the area. People had been living in Pilistvere for at least 2000 years, so the pastor thinks the area was already special to people.
Construction started on the church in the late 1200s and it was completed by the mid-1300s. The tower was restored recently (late 90s).
The pulpit with spiral pillars and carved statues was done by Thomas Öhman in 1686, and the painting that serves as an altarpiece, ”Christ on the Cross,” was painted by Baltiv-Germanic artist Sally von Kügelen in 1901.
 |
| St Francis of Assisi |
The church also has a resident cat!
Just beyond the church, we visited the Stones of Sorrow. It is a memorial to all those lost during the brutal deportations and executions during Soviet times. People bring stones to the place and it serves as a gravesite for them to visit if they don't know where their relatives' final resting places are. I wished I had had a stone with me to place at the memorial for my ancestor who was deported to Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears. He didn't survive the trip, and like the Estonians, he has no grave for his descendants to visit.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Orthodox Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (or Orthodox Church of St Prince Vladimir...) in Narva-Jõesuu
Visited June 8, 2013
I am not sure I have the name of this church correct. the website I often use to find more information on a church, Wayfarer's Churches 2013, lists the church as Orthodox Church of St Prince Vladimir in Narva-Jõesuu. And as best as I can tell from the picture, this is the church I saw.
However, the sign on the church, as best I can tell, says this is the church of the Mother of God Kaazan Icon.
The website says that the Orthodox Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is in Sillamäe. I did visit the church they have pictured as well, but it was built in 1990 and is way too new for this blog.
At an rate, the church I visited in Narva-Jõesuu is definitely the church that was built in 1867 and moved to Narva-Jõesuu from Mereküla in 1948. It is an adorable little church with the beautiful icons you expect of an orthodox church on the inside...
...and the cute wood carved creatures you might expect to find in the Great Smokey Mountains on the outside.
There was a sweet old lady at the church who spoke no English but did speak both Russian and Estonian who let us in and who sold my in-laws, who visited with us, a lovely souvenir to take back to the states.
I am not sure I have the name of this church correct. the website I often use to find more information on a church, Wayfarer's Churches 2013, lists the church as Orthodox Church of St Prince Vladimir in Narva-Jõesuu. And as best as I can tell from the picture, this is the church I saw.
However, the sign on the church, as best I can tell, says this is the church of the Mother of God Kaazan Icon.
The website says that the Orthodox Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God is in Sillamäe. I did visit the church they have pictured as well, but it was built in 1990 and is way too new for this blog.
At an rate, the church I visited in Narva-Jõesuu is definitely the church that was built in 1867 and moved to Narva-Jõesuu from Mereküla in 1948. It is an adorable little church with the beautiful icons you expect of an orthodox church on the inside...
...and the cute wood carved creatures you might expect to find in the Great Smokey Mountains on the outside.
There was a sweet old lady at the church who spoke no English but did speak both Russian and Estonian who let us in and who sold my in-laws, who visited with us, a lovely souvenir to take back to the states.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)