Pöide St. Mary's Church () is located on

Saaremaa island Saaremaa (; ) is the largest and most populous island in Estonia. Measuring , its population is 31,435 (as of January 2020). The main island of the West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago), it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hi ...

, in Pöide,

Saaremaa Parish Saaremaa Parish, also known as Saaremaa Municipality (), is a municipality in Saare County in western Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland a ...

Saare County Saare County ( or ''Saaremaa''; ; ; ; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It consists of Saaremaa, the largest island of Estonia, and several smaller islands near it, most notably Muhu, Ruhnu, Abruka and Vilsandi. The county borders Lääne Count ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

History

The current Pöide Church building is believed to be constructed on the remains of an earlier chapel dating from the 13th century. After the conquest of Saaremaa in 1227, the eastern part of the island belonged to the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...

, who built a fortress at Pöide as their headquarters during the second half of the 13th century. This fortress was destroyed by the Saaremaa natives during the wave of uprisings against the occupying forces that took place in Estonia and Saaremaa during the St.George's Night Uprising of 1343. There was a chapel on the southern side of the fortress, and the walls of this chapel today form the central part of Pöide church. Owing to its massive form, it is colloquially named the fortress-church. The building was looted and burnt during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and also used as a storage facility. It suffered severe damage in a fire in 1940,Eesti Entsüklopeedia, kd 7. Tallinn: 1994. P. 619. when lightning struck the tower. The large crack in the tower from the lightning can still be seen today.

Cultural heritage

Pöide church has been renovated and reconstructed gradually since 1989. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

, stone

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

, and

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

have been renovated. The main part of the building (including the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, roof, and

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

) still awaits renovation. Several big tombstones inside the church are displayed behind glass, showing the importance of the church as a cultural centre for nearby communities during previous centuries. These include the tombstone of a headless knight,

Heinrich von Schulmann Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

, a nobleman from nearby Tumala estate, who was executed in 1613 (during the Danish reign) in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

for being politically connected with the Swedish authorities.

Congregation

Today, a small

Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC; Estonian: ''Eesti Evangeelne Luterlik Kirik'', abbreviated EELK) is a Lutheran church in Estonia. The EELC is member of the Lutheran World Federation and belongs to the Community of Protestant Ch ...

congregation is active, with about 30 members. In the summer, church services are held twice a month in the church building. During the winter, the services are held in nearby pastorate. On 28 July 2006 the first Roman Catholic wedding was held in Pöide church since the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

era.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poide Church Lutheran churches in Estonia 13th-century churches in Estonia Gothic architecture in Estonia Saaremaa Parish Buildings and structures in Saaremaa 13th-century establishments in Estonia Tourist attractions in Saare County Kreis Ösel

History

Cultural heritage

Congregation

See also

References