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 Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

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 ...

by Lars Sonck, and built between 1902 and 1907. The cathedral is famous for its frescoes, painted by the symbolist

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 Nico ...

between 1905 and 1906. The paintings aroused considerable adverse criticism in their time, 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. The altar-piece, representing the future resurrection of people of all races, was painted by Magnus Enckell.

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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