Tampere Cathedral (, ; originally known as St. John'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

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

, Finland, and the seat of the

Diocese of Tampere The Diocese of Tampere (, ) is the second-oldest and largest diocese in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It was originally founded in 1554 as the Diocese of Viipuri (Viborg), but moved to Porvoo in 1723, becoming the Diocese of Porvoo ...

. 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 ...

Lars Sonck Lars Eliel Sonck (10 August 1870 – 14 March 1956) was a Finnish architect. He was a prominent figure in early 20th-century Finnish architecture, known for his role in developing the National Romantic and later Nordic Classicism movements in ...

, and built between 1902 and 1907. The cathedral is famous for its

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es, painted by the

symbolist Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

Hugo Simberg Hugo Gerhard Simberg (24 June 1873 – 12 July 1917) was a Finland, Finnish Symbolism (movement), symbolist painter and graphic artist. Life and career Simberg was born on 24 June 1873, at Hamina (), Finland, the son of Colonel Nicolai Simberg ...

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 Knut Magnus Enckell (9 November 1870 in Hamina – 27 November 1925 in Stockholm) was a Finnish symbolist painter. At first, he painted with a subdued palette, but from 1902 onwards, used increasingly bright colors. He was a leading member of the ...

References

External links

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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-Lutheran-church-stub