Michael's Church (, ) is a church situated in central

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

. It is named after

Archangel Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second ...

and was finished in 1905. It dominates the western skyline of the city of Turku. It was designed by Professor

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 is one of the most popular wedding churches in Turku, being able to seat 1,800 people. When Sonck won the competition for the church in 1894, he was only a 23-year-old architectural student. Michael's Church is older than Michael's parish. The parish only dates back to 1921.

Architecture

Michael's church is a distinguished example of the neogothic style in architecture. It is a long church with three

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

s, galleries and a multifaceted

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. In addition to the main entrance there are also doors at each corner of the church. The

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

is situated behind the choir. The main spire rises to a height of 77 meters from the foundations. The main building material of the walls of the church is red brick. The roof is made of grey green slate from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. However, the majority of the material used in the construction of the church are native materials from

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, ...

. For the foundations, the stone steps, and the walls, natural stone was quarried not far from Turku. Even before the construction work started, Sonck wanted to make considerable changes to his winning design, but the church council did not agree to the proposed changes and in the end only minor detail changes were made to the facade. As for the interior, however, Sonck got a much freer hand to make changes from his original drawings. This is clearly seen in the deviations from the style of the times: Jugend follows Gothic and

Romantic Nationalism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

Interior design

Max Frelander the architect, who worked as an assistant to Sonck, has contributed to the interior design. A rich Jugend ornamentation decorates both the interior, the staircases and the windows. The altar, the pulpit, the altar rail, and the window frame are all made of Finnish soapstone. The central motif of the altar is a cross, on which base there is a symmetrical carving of two serpents. Also on the corner level of the altar rail there are rings of twisting serpents. The top of the cross is ornamented with a dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Jugend windows of the choir, which depict Finnish pine, were destroyed in a bombing raid during the Finnish Winter War (1939–1940). The national romantic movement is particularly dominant in the design of the choir. Motifs from Finnish nature are associated with traditional Christian symbolism. The original window paintings, which were destroyed during the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, were by the artist Willy Baer. The new ones were obtained in 1953. These were designed and done by the artists Hilkka Toivola and Otso Karpakka. The principal subjects of these works of art that were made in the Paris glass painting studio of Jean and Pierre Gaudin, are "the Good Shepherd" and "Faith, Hope, and Charity". Along with the new windows the stylistic unity of the interior of the church disappeared. Consequently, in the 1950s other changes were made in the interior design of the church to match the Gothic exterior. First the decorative paintings of the choir and the arch of triumph were painted over, and later the wall paintings in the body of the church and the staircases. However, the original decorative pictures were restored in connection with the general repair work on the church that was carried out in 1964–65. Michael's Church underwent a thorough renovation in the 1980s. First, an exterior repair work was carried out in 1984–85. The decayed exterior brick work and the roof were completely rebuilt. Reconditioning of the interior was done in 1985–87. First the sacristy of the church was returned to its original condition. After this came the main body of the church and the staircase. The ceiling and the interior wall surfaces were carefully cleaned of the grime of decades. The decorative designs were repaired and returned to their original paint finish or painted afresh. Floors were resurfaced with a new limestone finish. The acoustics of the church, which had proved a problem, was improved. In connection with this renovation work, a basic restoration of the 48 stop mechanical organ made in Kangasala in 1965 was also done. In 2002 the new organ with 52 stops and 3633 pipes was built by the Swedish organ builders AB. The church bells have rung out from the main spire since 1931, and they were a gift from Edla and Hjalmar Aarnio. Reino Lehto made a gift to the church of the model ship hanging from the gallery. Kaarina Lehmussaari, lecturer in textiles, donated a new decorated altar cloth.

Gallery

File:St. Michael Church in Turku.jpg File:Mikaelinkirkko_Turku.jpg File:Turku - Michael's church - door - 1.jpg File:Michael's Church.jpg File:Mikaelinkirkon ympäristö, Turku.jpg File:St Michael's Church Turku side view.jpg

External links

Virtual Turku – images from the cathedral
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michaels Church, Turku Lutheran churches in Turku Lars Sonck buildings National Romantic architecture in Finland Art Nouveau church buildings in Finland Churches completed in 1905 1905 establishments in Finland 20th-century churches in Finland 20th-century Lutheran churches

Architecture

Interior design

Gallery

See also

External links