St. Laurentius Church (Vantaa)
The St. Laurentius Church ( Finnish. Pyhän Laurin kirkko ), also known as the Church of the Helsinki Parish (Finnish. Helsingin pitäjän kirkko ), is a medieval stone church in the southern Finnish city of Vantaa in the greater Helsinki area . The church, built in the middle of the 15th century, is dedicated to St. Lawrence of Rome . The Church of St. Lawrence used to be the parish church of the Helsinki parish , the forerunner of today's city of Vantaa. It is located in the Helsingin pitäjän kirkonkylä district , the parish's historic parish village . Today the St. Laurentius Church is used as a branch church by the Tikkurila parish , one of seven Evangelical Lutheran parishes in Vantaa.
history
The parish of Helsinki, on whose territory the city of Helsinki was founded later in the 16th century, has existed since the late 14th century, possibly even since the end of the 13th century. It can therefore be assumed that the St. Laurentius Church had a wooden predecessor. However, there are no written sources to support this, and no archaeological research has been carried out.
Today's stone church was built between 1450 and 1460. Clear similarities with other medieval stone churches in Ostuusimaa indicate that St. Lawrence's Church was built by the so-called "Master of Pernå ", the same builder who also designed the churches of Pernå , Porvoo , Sipoo , Pyhtää and Vehkalahti were responsible.
In May 1893 a violent fire raged in the St. Laurentius Church. The church, which was badly damaged, was then restored on the basis of the old foundation walls and was consecrated again at Pentecost in 1894.
Building description
The St. Laurentius Church has largely been preserved in its medieval form, even if the restoration work of 1893 has left its mark and minor changes to the building fabric had already been made.
The nave of the church has three aisles . The main nave is divided into five star vaults , the side aisles into five cross vaults each. The structure of the armory attached to the south of the nave is medieval, while the sacristy on the north side was renewed in 1829. The vestibule at the west end was added in 1830. The St. Laurentius Church does not have a church tower , but the church bells are housed in a free-standing bell stack . Its stone base may date from the Middle Ages, while the superstructure was built after the fire of 1893.
The interior of the church is a product of the reconstruction of 1893. An attempt was made to recreate the old Secco paintings with which the vaults were decorated in the early 16th century. Of the original eight medieval wooden sculptures, four were destroyed in the fire. The oldest of the surviving sculptures depicts an unknown female saint and was created in Lübeck in the middle of the 15th century . A native portrait of the Virgin Mary , a sculpture of St. Dominic from Germany and a sculpture of Job from Lübeck, which is now on display in the National Museum, date from around 1500.
literature
- Markus Hiekkanen: Suomen keskiajan kivikirkot (= Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran toimituksia 1117). Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki 2007, ISBN 978-951-746-861-9 , pp. 484-487.
- Marja Terttu Knapas (Ed.): Vantaan Pyhän Laurin kirkko 500 = Helsinge kyrka St. Lars 500. Tutkielmia kirkon historiasta. Vantaan seurakunnat, Vantaa 1994, ISBN 952-90-5422-X .
Web links
See also
Coordinates: 60 ° 16 ′ 59.3 ″ N , 24 ° 59 ′ 9.6 ″ E