Suomenlinna Church

Last updated
Harmaja Range Rear Light
Suomenlinnan kirkko
Suomenlinna - Eglise de la forteresse.JPG
Suomenlinna Church
LocationIso Mustasaari, Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Coordinates 60°08′52″N24°59′10″E / 60.1478°N 24.9861°E / 60.1478; 24.9861
Tower
Constructed1928  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Shapesquare tower centered on a church [1]
Racon M  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Light
Focal height54.2 m (178 ft)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Range20.5 nmi (38.0 km; 23.6 mi)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Characteristic Fl(4) W 15s  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Suomenlinna Church (Finnish : Suomenlinnan kirkko, Swedish : Sveaborgs kyrka) in Helsinki, Finland, was built in 1854 as an Eastern Orthodox garrison church for the Russian troops stationed at the Suomenlinna sea fortress. The fortress comprises five islands joined together by bridges, and the church is the central feature on the island of Iso Mustasaari (Swedish : Stora Östersvartö), located at its highest point. It is surrounded by other fortress buildings, but the old parade ground is immediately to the east, and a park lies immediately to the south. It is oriented southwest to northeast so that it would align with the Crownwork Ehrensvärd defense front located to the southwest of the church.

Contents

Before the design and construction of the Orthodox church, plans were drawn up in the 1820s by architect Carl Ludvig Engel for a church on the same site, but designed in the neoclassical style in keeping with the rest of buildings at the fortress and the buildings in the capital city, Helsinki. The actual church was designed by Konstantin Thon, an official architect of Imperial Russia during the reign of Czar Nicholas I, whose major works included the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, the Grand Kremlin Palace, and the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow. The church was named for Saint/Prince Alexander Nevsky, who defeated the Swedes at the Neva battle of 1240. The Alexander Nevsky Church originally had five onion domes. The perimeter fence, constructed from cannons and chains, was erected in the 1870s. [2] The church bell, the largest in Finland, was cast in Moscow in 1885 and weighs 6,683 kilograms. [3] It is now displayed adjacent to the church. The church was elevated to the status of cathedral within the Orthodox faith in 1891.

In 1918 the Orthodox church was converted into an Evangelical Lutheran church, as Finland sought to indicate its new-found independence from Russia. The onion domes of the four smaller towers were immediately removed. The church's extensive iconography was warehoused by the city of Helsinki, but their current whereabouts are unknown. During the 1920s, it was decided to give the church an extensive renovation for structural repair as well as incorporation of a more Western design. The design competition was won by architect Einar Sjöström, and the finished church was reconsecrated on 28 April 1929.

Another interesting feature from the renovation is that the church's central dome has doubled as a lighthouse since 1929, making it one of only a few churches in the world that has that dual purpose. The lighthouse is officially the Harmaja Range Rear light, and it pairs with the Harmaja lighthouse (4.8 km south in the Gulf of Finland) as the Range Front light. The signal blink is the Morse code for the letter "H" for Helsinki.

Additional renovations have been made in the 1960s (after the church was turned over to the Evangelical Lutheran Parish Union of Helsinki), and again in the late 1980s and 1990s in preparation for the 250th anniversary of Suomenlinna in 1998. The Suomenlinna Church is still a very popular wedding site and one of the first landmarks for people arriving in Helsinki by sea.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suomenlinna</span> Sea fortress by Helsinki, Finland

Suomenlinna, or Sveaborg, is an inhabited sea fortress composed of eight islands, of which six have been fortified; it is about 4 km southeast of the city center of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Suomenlinna is popular with tourists and locals, who enjoy it as a picturesque picnic site. Originally named Sveaborg, or Viapori as referred to by Finnish-speaking Finns, it was renamed in Finnish to Suomenlinna in 1918 for patriotic and nationalistic reasons, though it is still known by its original name in Sweden and by Swedish-speaking Finns. Due to its strategic geographical location, it sometimes used to be known as Gibraltar of the North.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orthodox Church of Finland</span> An Eastern Orthodox archdiocese in Finland

The Orthodox Church of Finland or Finnish Orthodox Church is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The church has a legal position as a national church in the country, along with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.

Helsinki is the capital of Finland and is its largest city. It was founded in the Middle Ages to be a Swedish rival to other ports on the Gulf of Finland, but it remained a small fishing village for over two centuries. Its importance to the Swedish Kingdom increased in the mid-18th century when the fortress originally known as Sveaborg was constructed on islands at the entrance to the harbor. While intended to protect Helsinki from Russian attack, Sveaborg ultimately surrendered to Russia during the Finnish War (1808-1809), and Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as part of the Treaty of Fredrikshamn. Russia then moved the Finnish capital from Turku to Helsinki, and the city grew dramatically during the 19th century. Finnish independence, a civil war, and three consecutive conflicts associated with World War II made Helsinki a site of significant political and military activity during the first half of the 20th century. Helsinki hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1952, was a European Capital of Culture in 2000, and the World Design Capital in 2012. It is considered a Beta Level city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC), according to their 2012 analysis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan the Great Bell Tower</span> Church tower in Moscow, Russia

The Ivan the Great Bell Tower is a church tower inside the Moscow Kremlin complex. With a total height of 81 metres (266 ft), it is the tallest tower and structure of the Kremlin. It was built in 1508 on Cathedral Square for the three Russian Orthodox cathedrals, namely the Assumption, the Archangel and the Annunciation, which do not have their own belfries. It serves as a part of Moscow Kremlin Museums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helsinki Cathedral</span> Church in Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki Cathedral is the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the neighborhood of Kruununhaka in the centre of Helsinki, Finland, at the Senate Square. The church was originally built from 1830 to 1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Emperor Nicholas I of Russia. It was also known as St Nicholas's Church until Finland declared its full independence in 1917. It is a major landmark of the city, and one of the most famous historical structures in Finland as a whole when viewed globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kazan Cathedral, Saint Petersburg</span> Orthodox cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Kazan Cathedral or Kazanskiy Kafedralniy Sobor, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, is a cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church on the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Kazan, one of the most venerated icons in Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia</span> Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Built in Neo-Byzantine style, it serves as the cathedral church of the Patriarch of Bulgaria and it is one of the 50 largest Christian church buildings by volume in the world. It is one of Sofia's symbols and primary tourist attractions. St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia occupies an area of 3,170 square metres (34,100 sq ft) and can hold 5,000 people inside. It is among the 10 largest Eastern Orthodox church buildings. It is the largest cathedral in the Balkans. It is believed that up until the year 2000 it was the largest finished Orthodox cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn</span> Church building in Tallinn, Estonia

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral of Tallinn is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in central Tallinn, Estonia. It was built in 1894–1900, when the country was part of the former Russian Empire. The cathedral is the city's largest cupola church. The late Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow (1929–2008) started his priestly ministry in the cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uspenski Cathedral</span> A cathedral in Helsinki, Finland

Uspenski Cathedral is a Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Helsinki, Finland, and main cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Finland, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. Its name comes from the Old Church Slavonic word uspenie, which denotes the Dormition. It is the largest Orthodox church in Northern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuivasaari</span>

Kuivasaari is a Finnish island in the Gulf of Finland, near Helsinki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Grimm (architect)</span> Russian architect (1823–1898)

David Ivanovich Grimm was a Russian architect, educator and historian of art specialising in the Byzantine Empire, Georgia and Armenia. Grimm belonged to the second generation of Russian neo-Byzantine architects and was the author of Orthodox cathedrals in Tbilisi, Chersonesos and smaller churches in Russia and Western Europe. Grimm was a long-term professor at the Imperial Academy of Arts and chaired its department of architecture in 1887–1892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmaja</span> Lighthouse

Harmaja is an island and a lighthouse outside Helsinki, south of the Suomenlinna sea fortress. The island has been functioning as a landmark since the 16th century. A landmark structure was built on the island in the 18th century and a light house in 1883. The first lighthouse was only 7.3 m high and it soon proved to be too low. In 1900 the height was doubled by creating a rectangular brick building on a granite base. A large foghorn alerted ships in fog and in bad visibility. Harmaja received the world's first directed and undirected radio beacon in 1936. The lighthouse is fully automated today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ullanlinna</span> Helsinki Subdivision in Uusimaa, Finland

Ullanlinna is a city district of Helsinki, in Finland. The name Ullanlinna refers to the fortification line that was built at the southern edge of the area during the 18th century, as part of the town fortifications, which also included the fortress of Suomenlinna. The name Ulla refers to the Swedish Queen Ulrika Eleonora (1688–1741). During the 19th century the area was dominated by summer pavilions owned by the wealthy Helsinki middle-classes. The appearance of the area changed gradually at the end of the 19th century as the wooden houses were replaced with much higher stone buildings, designed in the prevailing Jugendstil architectural style synonymous with National Romanticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krepost Sveaborg</span>

The Krepost Sveaborg was an Imperial Russian system of land and coastal fortifications constructed around Helsinki during the First World War. The purpose of the fortress was to provide a secure naval base for the Russian Baltic fleet and to protect Helsinki and block routes to Saint Petersburg from a possible German invasion. Krepost Sveaborg was part of Peter the Great's Naval Fortress, a coastal fortification system protecting access to Saint Petersburg by sea. The central part of Krepost Sveaborg was the old fortress of Suomenlinna where the fortress headquarters were located. Due to technological advances in artillery the old fortress was no longer capable of providing a sufficient protection, and a new main defensive line was built well beyond the old fortress boundaries. New coastal artillery guns built on outlying islands protected Krepost Sveaborg from the sea, while fortified lines constructed around Helsinki were intended to stop any attacks on land. The primary coastal guns were 10 in (254 mm) model 1891 guns and 6 in (152 mm) model 1892 Canet guns. Older 11 in (279 mm) model 1877 guns were also used. In summer 1917 the fortress had two hundred coastal or anti-landing guns, of which 24 were 10-inch guns in six batteries, 16 were 6-inch Canet guns in four batteries and twelve were 11-inch guns in three batteries. The artillery used in land fortifications included older coastal guns, old fixed carriage guns and newer light field guns. In March 1917, Krepost Sveaborg had a total of 463 guns, although many of them were obsolescent. Krepost Sveaborg was still partly incomplete in 1917 when the February Revolution halted most of the construction work. Some further construction work was carried out during the remaining year, but all work halted during the October Revolution. Following the Finnish Declaration of Independence, parts of the land fortifications were used in the Finnish Civil War. The coastal fortifications were later taken over by Finland to protect Helsinki, while the land fortifications were mostly abandoned and disarmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Mary</span>

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Mary is an Evangelical Lutheran church located in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was built in 1805 and refurbished in 2002. Its address is: Bolshaya Konyushennnaya Ulitsa 8A, off Nevsky Prospekt. It is usually called the Finnish church and is one of the oldest and largest Protestant churches in Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Catherine</span>

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Catherine is an Evangelical Lutheran church located at Malaya Konyushnaya Ulitsa 1 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The building was built in 1885. As it was built by and for Swedish expatriates in Saint Petersburg, it is usually called the Swedish church. The adjacent building is occupied by the Swedish General Consulate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Nevsky Church, Copenhagen</span> Church in Copenhagen, Denmark

The Alexander Nevsky Church is the only Russian Orthodox church in Copenhagen. It was built by the Russian Government between 1881 and 1883, prompted by Princess Dagmar of Denmark's marriage to Alexander Alexandrovich on 9 November 1866 and their later ascent to the Russian throne as Tsar Alexander III of Russia and Tsaritsa Maria Feodorovna. The church is dedicated to the Russian patron saint Alexander Nevsky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian Chapel in Darmstadt</span>

The Russian Chapel in Darmstadt, formally, the St. Mary Magdalene Chapel, is a historic Russian Orthodox church at Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra</span> Russian Orthodox cathedral in Saint Petersburg

The Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Saint Petersburg. It is in the Diocese of Saint Petersburg and part of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, where it is the cathedral church of the monastery complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ehrensvärd grave</span>

The Ehrensvärd grave is the final resting place and memorial of Augustin Ehrensvärd, the founder of the Suomenlinna island fortress in Helsinki, Finland, at the Linnanpiha yard on the island of Susisaari in Suomenlinna. Ehrensvärd was buried at the yard in 1783 but the memorial was only completed in its current form in 1805.

References

  1. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Southern Finland: Uusimaa (Helsinki Region)". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  2. "Selection C43 - The Church of Alexander Nevsky, Suomenlinna Church". suomenlinna.fi/en/fortress/360-map-of-the-history-of-suomenlinna/. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  3. "Suomenlinna Church - Beautiful Helsinki". beautifulhelsinki.wordpress.com. Retrieved 12 September 2017.

60°08′52″N024°59′10″E / 60.14778°N 24.98611°E / 60.14778; 24.98611