Viipuri Cathedral ( fi, Viipurin tuomiokirkko, ), also known as Viborg Cathedral ( sv, Viborgs domkyrka) or Vyborg Cathedral ( rus, Вы́боргский кафедра́льный собо́р, Výborgskiy kafedrálʹny sobór, ˈvɨbərkskʲɪj kəfʲɪˈdralʲnɨj sɐˈbor), was 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 Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in Viipuri, present-day

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

; during its lifetime part of the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecess ...

and later

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It was built in 1893. At first it was called the ''New Church'' and after 1908, when the

Mikael Agricola Mikael Agricola (; c. 1510 – 9 April 1557) was a Finnish Lutheran clergyman who became the de facto founder of literary Finnish and a prominent proponent of the Protestant Reformation in Sweden, including Finland, which was a Swedish territo ...

statue was erected in front of the church, the ''Agricola Church''. From 1925 to 1940 it was the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

of the Diocese of Viipuri. It was also called the ''New Cathedral'', ; sv, Viborgs nya domkyrka; rus, Но́вый кафедра́льный собо́р, Nóvy kafedrálʹny sobór, ˈnovɨj kəfʲɪˈdralʲnɨj sɐˈbor, , New Cathedral in order to separate it from the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. In 1881 Viipuri's Finnish parish was divided between the city and the surrounding rural municipality. The old church of the parish was left to the rural parish. The city parish needed a new church, which was built by Carl Eduard Dippell between 1889 and 1893 in Gothic Revival style. In 1908, a bust by

Emil Wikström Emil Wikström (13 April 1864 in Turku – 26 September 1942 Helsinki) was a Finnish sculptor. Among his best known works are the '' Lyhdynkantajat'' ("Lantern Carriers") sculptures on the front of the Helsinki Central railway station and the mo ...

was added to the cathedral façade. Viipuri was heavily bombarded during the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

. The altar side of the cathedral was hit by a bomb on 3 February 1940. Finland lost the city to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

, but conquered it back during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...

in 1941. The cathedral had been partly dismantled by the Russians and the Finns didn't start to repair it during the war. In 1944 Viipuri was again lost to the Soviet Union and the cathedral was fully torn apart after the war.

Notes

References

Lutheran cathedrals in Europe Lutheran churches in Russia Cathedrals in Russia Former churches in Finland Churches completed in 1893 19th-century Lutheran churches Buildings and structures in Vyborg Former cathedrals Ruins of churches destroyed during World War II Cultural heritage monuments in Leningrad Oblast {{russia-church-stub