The Vaasa Holy Trinity Church (; ), or simply the Vaasa Church, is a
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
located in the city center of
Vaasa
Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Ostrobothnia,
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
. The 900-seat red-brick church, designed by architect Carl Axel Setterberg, was completed in 1869.Vaasan kirkko – Finnish Heritage Agency (in Finnish)
Vaasa Church is a long church with three naves. In terms of style, the church mainly represents English Gothic. There are three
altarpiece
An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...
s in the church, each painted by
Albert Edelfelt
Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt (21 July 1854 – 18 August 1905) was a Finnish Painting, painter noted for his naturalistic style and Realism (arts), Realist approach to art. He lived in the Grand Duchy of Finland and made Finnish culture visib ...
Louis Sparre
Pehr Louis Sparre af Söfdeborg (3 August 1863 – 26 October 1964) was a Swedish painter, designer and draughtsman, most noted for his early work in the Finnish national romanticism and jugend styles. He also competed in the individual ...
.Ossi Jäkärä: ''Paimenten kumarrus – Vaasan seurakuntaelämää ja kirkkotaidetta kuvien kertomana'', pp. 115–120. Vaasan evankelis-luterilaiset seurakunnat, 1993. ISBN 952-90-5033-X. (in Finnish) There are a total of about 900 seats in the hall and galleries of the church, and 130 in the
crypt
A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
downstairs. The church's 45-voice main
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...
Carl Axel Setterberg made preliminary plans and cost estimates for the church in 1857. The drawings were approved the following year after certain changes.Aimo Wuorinen: ''Vaasan evankelis-luterilaiset kirkot ja seurakunnat kaupungin palon jälkeisenä aikana'', pp. 23–31, 48–52, 266. Vaasan evankelis-luterilaiset seurakunnat, 1968. (in Finnish) The first official worship was organized in the church in 1862, after which it began to be used almost continuously. However, it was not officially inaugurated until September 5, 1869, as the final inspection of the church and the completion of the movables and interior structures were delayed.
The Vaasa church was wanted in a central place when the city moved to its current location after the 1852 Great Fire of Vaasa, and it was wanted to create one of the clear monuments of the rebuilt city. The church was renovated in 1960–1961.