Turku Cathedral

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Turku Cathedral

The Turku Cathedral ( Finnish: Turun tuomiokirkko , Sw. Åbo domkyrka ) is the only medieval cathedral in Finland. The building, which is located in the center of the southern Finnish city of Turku directly on the Aurajoki River , has been the seat of the Archbishop of Turku since it was consecrated as a cathedral in 1300 and is also the main church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Finland . Turku Cathedral is considered the national shrine of Finland.

history

Cathedral 1814, before the fire
High altar with painting by Fredric Westin (1836)

In the 13th century, around 1230, a small parish church made of wood was built on the hill “Unikankare” (Eng. Dormant Hill ), which the inhabitants of Turku dedicated to Saint Mary . As Turku became an important trading center, it was decided to move the Episcopal Church, which had been in Koroinen (now part of Turku) since 1229 , to the center of the growing city. The parish church was therefore rebuilt from brick and finally consecrated as a cathedral in 1300. Henrik , Finland's first bishop, was chosen to be the patron saint of the building along with Mary.

Numerous structural changes and extensions were carried out over the next two centuries until the cathedral was roughly given its present form in the 16th century. A new choir was added in the 14th century , which the octagonal Gothic columns in the chancel still bear witness to today. The high altar was placed opposite the easternmost columns of the main nave, but was relocated again in the 17th century. In the 15th century, the building was extended by numerous side chapels along the south and north sides of the main nave . Altogether there were 42 at the end of the Middle Ages. They were consecrated to various saints, including twelve female saints (including Maria Magdalena , Catherine of Alexandria , Catherine of Siena , Birgitta of Sweden , Barbara of Nicomedia ). At the end of the 15th century, the roof vault was finally increased to its current height of 24 meters.

When the Danes under Otte Rud conquered the city in 1509, the cathedral was also looted. In 1514, with the beatification of Bishop Hemming , the last major Catholic ceremony took place. At that time, the Evangelical Lutheran faith had followers in Northern Europe, and a few years later the Reformation was carried out in Sweden (which Finland was a part of) . As a result, the typical Catholic traditions were removed from the cathedral and the choir changed. The altars in the side chapels were no longer used and the figures of saints were stored in the sacristy. Only the main altar and the pulpit were used for church services, and finally the cathedral was furnished with wooden benches. In 1554 Mikael Agricola became the first Protestant bishop of Turku. A statue of him stands in front of the cathedral today.

From the 16th century onwards there were no more major changes to the building itself, only the tower is from modern times . It had to be rebuilt several times due to repeated fires. a. after a fire in 1681. When the city was almost completely destroyed in the great fire of 1827, the cathedral was also badly damaged. During the subsequent renovation work, the tower was rebuilt one last time. It is now 85.53 m high, including the 3.40 m cross. The interior was also almost completely burned, with the exception of the statues stored in the sacristy. Today's furnishings therefore largely date from the 1830s. The architect Carl Ludwig Engel , commissioned with the reconstruction of the city, designed the altar construction and the pulpit. The Swede Fredric Westin created the altar painting in 1836 that depicts the Transfiguration of Christ. The frescoes in the choir are by the national romantic painter Robert Wilhelm Ekman .

The most recent renovations so far took place around 1979. The cathedral was also equipped with some modern devices (including heating, fire protection).

The 12 o'clock chimes of the cathedral bell are broadcast daily on Finnish radio . This happened for the first time in the Continuation War on June 19, 1944, during the decisive battle of the Karelian Isthmus . At that time, Gerda Ryti, the wife of President Risto Ryti , called on the Finnish people to prayer for the fatherland in her radio address.

organ

1980, a new, 75 has registers equipped organ installed by the Finnish organ builder Veikko Virtanen comes, who is also the organ of the Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki had built. The instrument has 82 registers on four manuals , pedal work and two other independent organ works; the Echowerk is to the III. and the IV. manual can be freely coupled, the trumpeteria to all manual works and the pedal .

I Rückpositiv C – g 3
Principal 8th'
Dumped 8th'
Oktava 4 ′
Reed flute 4 ′
Oktava 2 ′
Nasat 1 13
Sesquialtera II
Mixture IV-V
Cymbel III
Dulcian 16 ′
Trumpet 8th'
Krummhorn 8th'
tremolo
II Hauptwerk C – g 3
Principal 16 ′
Oktava 8th'
Flute harmonique 8th'
Reed flute 8th'
Gamba 8th'
Voce Umana 8th'
Oktava 4 ′
Pointed flute 4 ′
third 3 15
Kvinta 2 23
Oktava 2 ′
third 1 35
Mixture VI – VIII
Sharp IV – VI
Trumpet 16 ′
Trumpet 8th'
Trumpet 4 ′
III Swell C – g 3
Dumped 16 ′
flute 8th'
Cor de nuit 8th'
Fugara 8th'
Voix céleste 8th'
Principal 4 ′
Transverse flute 4 ′
Salicet 4 ′
Spitzkvinta 2 23
Forest flute 2 ′
third 1 35
Mixture VII
Basson 16 ′
Trumpet harm. 8th'
Hautbois 8th'
Voix humaine 8th'
Clairon 4 ′
tremolo
IV breastwork C – g 3
Tube bare 8th'
Kvintadena 8th'
Principal 4 ′
Flute 4 ′
Gemshorn 2 ′
Pointed octava 1'
Cymbel III-IV
shelf 16 ′
Schalmey 8th'
Cornet V
tremolo
Pedals C – f 1
Principal 32 ′
Oktava 16 ′
Sub bass 16 ′
Oktava 8th'
cello 8th'
Dumped 8th'
Oktava 4 ′
Coupling flute 4 ′
Night horn 2 ′
Rauschpfeife IV
Mixture VII
trombone 32 ′
trombone 16 ′
bassoon 16 ′
Trumpet 8th'
Singing shelf 4 ′
Echowork (III, IV) C – g 3
Lovely Gedackt 8th'
Kvintadena 8th'
Pointed flute 4 ′
Reed flute 4 ′
Nasat 2 23
Piccolo 2 ′
tremolo
Trumpeteria (I, II, III, IV, P) C – g 3
Trompeta magna (D) 16 ′
Trompeta brilliant (B, D) 8th'
Clarin fuerte (B, D) 4 ′
Clarin (B) 2 ′
  • Coupling : I / II, III / I, III / II, IV / II, IV / III, I / P, II / P, III / P, IV / P; E / III, E / IV; T / I, T / II, T / III, T / IV, T / P

Gravesites

Sarcophagus by Karin Månsdotter
Torsten Stålhandske's tomb
Tomb of Åke Tott and his wife

The smaller side chapels built in the Middle Ages were converted into funerary vaults during the Reformation. Many important personalities of Finnish history, mostly bishops and warlords, are buried here. The most famous grave monument in the cathedral is the marble sarcophagus of the Swedish Queen Karin Månsdotter (1550–1612), the third wife of Erik XIV , who spent the last years of her life in Kangasala and is the only member of the royal family to have her grave in Finland.

Other grave monuments:

People were also buried under the church floor. It is estimated that there are around 4,500 bodies under the cathedral. In 1784 burials were banned for reasons of public health. 91 family graves, which had been used up until then, were walled up; eight of them were later uncovered.

See also

Web links

Commons : Turku Cathedral  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Turku Cathedral. (PDF) Parishes of Turku and Kaarina, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on June 18, 2019 (brochure about the cathedral).

Individual evidence

  1. Main Church of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church ( Memento of the original from March 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.turunseurakunnat.fi
  2. More information about the organ
  3. The Cathedral Speaks ( Memento of the original from March 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.turunseurakunnat.fi

Coordinates: 60 ° 27 ′ 8 ″  N , 22 ° 16 ′ 42 ″  E