Tuomiokirkko Helsinki is famed for its architects, but it was a German, Carl Ludvig Engel, who laid out Senate Square and designed the Lutheran Cathedral. After a fire destroyed most of Helsinki during its annexation by the Russians, the new city square was inaugurated as part of the 19th-century reconstruction of Helsinki under Russian administration.
The Tuomiokirkko was built to replace a smaller church on the site dating from 1727. Construction of the Lutheran Cathedral was overseen by Engel from 1830 until his death in 1840, when it was taken over by Ernst Lohrmann. Lohrmann added the zinc statues of the twelve apostles on the roof, a bell tower, and a side chapel to Engel's design. The church was completed in 1852.
Neoclassical details. Photo HoolyPics.
The cathedral was built as a tribute to the Grand Duke, Nicholas I, the Tsar of Russia, and was called St. Nicholas' Church until the independence of Finland in 1917. In 1959, it became a cathedral of the Evangelical Lutheran denomination.
Extensive renovations, both to the cathedral and to its crypt, brought the Lutheran Cathedral back to its original beauty in 1998. One of Helsinki's most popular tourist attractions, it receives more than 350,000 visitors each year.
