St. John's Church, Tartu

Church building in Tartu, Estonia

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Church in Tartu, Estonia

58°22′57.72″N 26°43′12.72″E / 58.3827000°N 26.7202000°E / 58.3827000; 26.7202000LocationTartuAddressJaani 5Country

EstoniaLanguage(s)EstonianDenominationLutheranPrevious denominationCatholicWebsitejaanikirik.eeHistoryStatusActiveFounded12th centuryDedicationJohn the BaptistArchitectureFunctional statusParish churchHeritage designationKultuurimälestis (no. 6916)Designated16 September 1997Architectural typeBasilicaStyleGothicYears built14th centuryGroundbreaking12th centurySpecificationsNumber of towers1Tower height63 metres (206 ft 8 in)MaterialsBrick
Terracotta (façade)Bells3AdministrationDioceseSouthern Region DeaneryTartuParishSt John's in TartuClergyBishop(s)Joel LuhametsRectorTriin Käpp
Naatan Haamer

St. John's Church, Tartu (Estonian: Jaani kirik, German: St. Johanniskirche zu Dorpat^[1]) is a Brick Gothic Lutheran church, one of the landmarks of the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is dedicated to John the Baptist.

History

Initially, St John's was a Catholic church, as the oldest parts of the current building originate from the 14th century. Before that, there has been a church building on the same place at least since the first half of the 13th century. Archaeological investigations have indicated that there may well have been a wooden church here in the 12th century. This is particularly remarkable because the national Christianisation did not take place until much later.^[2] The red brick building has seen extensive changes, as it was largely rebuilt after both the Great Northern War and World War II. Baroque chapels were added in 1746 and 1769. The church is now part of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church.^[3]

The Great Fire of Tartu started near the church in 1775 and the church and nearby Uppsala House were spared the destruction which destroyed nearly two hundred houses.^[4]

At the end of the 19th century the church supplied primary education. The actress Amalie Konsa received her only schooling here.^[5]

Description

The most outstanding feature of St. John's is its wealth of terracotta figurines surrounding the church's exterior. Originally, there were more than a thousand hand-made figurines, each different from the others; now, about 200 have survived. The large number of individual figurines has given birth to the hypotheses that they might have been modelled after citizens of Tartu; on the other hand, some of them wear crowns, which hints they might depict someone else.

Since 1999, St John's Church has two new bells named Peetrus and Paulus after city's two patron saints (respectively, St. Peter and St. Paul).

Church's congregation

The church is used by Tartu University-St. John's Congregation (Estonian: Tartu Ülikooli-Jaani kogudus). Before 2001, Tartu University Congregation and Tartu St. John's Congregation were standalone congregations.^[6]

References

^ Johannes Frey (1902). Die St. Johanniskirche zu Dorpat: ein interessantes Denkmal mittelalterlicher Baukunst (in German). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
^ Tartu Jaani, tartu.ee, retrieved 28 December 2013
^ St Johns Church, Visit Estonia, retrieved 27 December 2013
^ Metz, M; et al. (2013). Pile Foundations Baltic Piling Days 2012. CRC Pr I Llc. p. 38. ISBN 0415643341.
^ "Konsa, Amalie - Eesti Entsüklopeedia". etbl.teatriliit.ee. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
^ "Koguduse ajalugu – Tartu Jaani kirik". jaanikirik.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 1 March 2024.