St. Elizabeth's Church () is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

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 and architecture

The present-day church traces its foundation to 1741, when the Russian empress

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

donated 8,000 roubles for the construction of a new church in Pärnu; hence, the church was named after the empress. Construction started in 1744 and the building was finished in 1747, under the guidance of master builder J. H. Güterbock from

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. The spire, finished somewhat later in 1750, was designed by J. H. Wülbern, who also designed the spire for St. Peter's Church, Riga. The resulting building is one of the finest ecclesiastical

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

buildings in Estonia, characterised by its relatively grand proportions and simplicity of decoration. Later additions include the

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

interior decoration and the south transept, designed by another architect from Riga, Häuserman, in 1893. The altarpiece, depicting the resurrection, is a work from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, made in Rotterdam in 1854. The organ dates from 1929 and is reputedly one of the finest in Estonia. In 1995, a further extension was added to the church, designed by Estonian architect Ra Luhse.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:St. Elizabeth's Church, Parnu Buildings and structures in Pärnu 18th-century establishments in Estonia 18th-century Lutheran churches Baroque architecture in Estonia Tourist attractions in Pärnu County Lutheran churches in Estonia