Tampere Cathedral

Cathedral in Tampere, Finland

61°30′09″N 023°46′11″E / 61.50250°N 23.76972°E / 61.50250; 23.76972ArchitectureArchitect(s)Lars SonckTypeCathedralStyleNational Romantic styleCompleted1907Height (max)64.0

Tampere Cathedral (Finnish: Tampereen tuomiokirkko, Swedish: Tammerfors domkyrka; originally known as St. John's Church^[1]) is a Lutheran church in Tampere, Finland, and the seat of the Diocese of Tampere. The building was designed in the National Romantic style by Lars Sonck, and built between 1902 and 1907.^[2]

The cathedral is famous for its frescoes, painted by the symbolist Hugo Simberg between 1905 and 1906.^[3] The paintings aroused considerable adverse criticism in their time,^[4] featuring versions of Simberg's The Wounded Angel and The Garden of Death. Of particular controversy was Simberg's painting of a winged serpent on a red background in the highest point of the ceiling, which some contemporaries interpreted as a symbol of sin and corruption.^[5]^[6]

The altar-piece, representing the future resurrection of people of all races, was painted by Magnus Enckell.

References

^ Lars Sonck: Tampere Cathedral – Archipicture
^ Tampere Cathedral | Evl.fi - Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
^ VisitFinland - Detail - The Official Travel and Tourism Portal of Finnish Tourist Board Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
^ The History, Art and Architecture of Tampere Cathedral Archived 2007-09-01 at the Wayback Machine
^ Huttunen, Samuli (29 August 2018). "Hugo Simberg etsi totuutta ja halusi lähestyä jumalaa maallisen rakkauden kautta – mutta voiko totuutta löytää?". Kulttuuritoimitus. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
^ Drufva, Juha (4 November 2018). "Hugo Simbergin maalaukset Tampereen tuomiokirkossa olivat rahvaan taidekoulu". Kansanuutiset. Retrieved 9 May 2020.