Tampere Cathedral ( fi, Tampereen tuomiokirkko, sv, Tammerfors domkyrka; originally known as St. John's Church) is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

church in

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

, Finland, and the seat of the

Diocese of Tampere The Diocese of Tampere (, ) is the second oldest and the largest diocese in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is divided into 69 parishes with a total population of over 595,000 people. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Tampere. H ...

. The building was designed in the

National Romantic style The National Romantic style was a Nordic architectural style that was part of the National Romantic movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is often considered to be a form of Art Nouveau. The National Romantic style spread ...

Lars Sonck Lars Eliel Sonck (10 August 1870 – 14 March 1956) was a Finnish architect. He graduated from Helsinki Polytechnic Institute in 1894 and immediately won a major design competition for a church in Turku, St Michael's Church, ahead of many esta ...

, and built between 1902 and 1907. The cathedral is famous for its

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es, painted by the

symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

Hugo Simberg Hugo Gerhard Simberg (24 June 1873 – 12 July 1917) was a Finnish symbolist painter and graphic artist. Life and career Simberg was born on 24 June 1873, at Hamina (in the original Swedish: ''Fredrikshamn''), Finland, the son of Colonel Nicol ...

between 1905 and 1906. The paintings aroused considerable adverse criticism in their time, featuring versions of Simberg's ''

The Wounded Angel ''The Wounded Angel'' ( fi, Haavoittunut enkeli; sv, Sårad ängel; 1903) is a painting by Finnish symbolist painter Hugo Simberg. It is one of the most recognizable of Simberg's works, and was voted Finland's "national painting" in a vote held ...

'' and ''

The Garden of Death ''The Garden of Death'' ( fi, Kuoleman puutarha; 1896) is a painting by Finnish symbolist painter Hugo Simberg. Like many of Simberg's paintings, it depicts a gloomy, otherworldly scene. The central figures are reminiscent of the classic black-cl ...

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

Magnus Enckell Knut Magnus Enckell (9 November 1870 in Hamina – 27 November 1925 in Stockholm) was a Finnish symbolist painter. At first he painted with a subdued palette, but from 1902 onwards used increasingly bright colors. He was a leading member of the ...

References

External links

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Tampere Cathedral
Buildings and structures in Tampere Jussinkylä Lutheran cathedrals in Finland Lars Sonck buildings National Romantic architecture in Finland Art Nouveau church buildings in Finland Churches completed in 1907 Tourist attractions in Tampere 20th-century churches in Finland 20th-century Lutheran churches {{finland-church-stub