St. Peter and St. Paul's Cathedral, Tallinn

St. Peter and St. Paul's Cathedral (Estonian: Peeter-Pauli katedraal) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Administration of Estonia. It is situated at Vene Str. 18 in the Old Town district of Tallinn, Estonia.

Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul
The Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul
Püha Peetruse ja Pauluse katedraal
Façade of the Cathedral
59°26′17″N 24°44′56″E
LocationTallinn
CountryEstonia
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
StatusActive
Founded1841
Consecrated26 December 1845
Architecture
Functional statusCathedral and Parish church
Architect(s)Carlo Rossi (architect), Erich Jacoby, Franz de Vries
Architectural typeBasilica
StyleNeo-Classical and Neo-Gothic
Completed1844
Administration
ParishTallinn
ProvinceEstonia
Clergy
Bishop(s)Philippe Jean-Charles Jourdan
RectorAlfonso Di Giovanni
Vicar(s)Igor Gavrilchik, Ain Peetrus Leetma

History and architecture
See also: Catholic Church in Estonia
Interior

Catholicism was introduced to Estonia by force via the Northern crusades and dominated religious life during the Middle Ages. However, following the Reformation during the 16th century, Lutheranism took its place as the dominant faith, and during the time of Swedish rule in Estonia, Catholicism was banned.[1]

Following Sweden's loss of Estonia to the Russian Empire during the Great Northern War, religious freedom was introduced by the new authorities. In 1799, the Catholic parish had grown large enough to be granted the former refectory of the long-since closed St. Catherine's Monastery as a place of worship on the site of the present church. In 1841, designs were made for a proper new church building for the site, which had grown too small. The architect was the well-known St. Petersburg architect Carlo Rossi. He designed a neo-Gothic basilica, without an apse, with a neo-classical exterior.

Between 1920 and 1924, the main, western façade received its present look, a work by architects Erich Jacoby and Franz de Vries somewhat deviating from Rossi's original façade. The interior of the church still reflects Rossi's design, however the wooden, neo-Gothic decoration has been removed. The cathedral has undergone a series of renovations, the latest in 2002–2003.[2][3][4]

The cathedral incorporates several works of art, including works by local Baltic German artists Carl Friedrich Sigismund Walther, Robert Johann Salemann and a copy of a painting by Guido Reni.

See also

References
  1. "The History of Catholicism in Estonia". Roman Catholicism in Estonia. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  2. Abiline, Toomas. St. Peter and St. Paul's Cathedral in Tallinn (PDF). The Apostolic Administration of Estonia. pp. 4–8. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  3. "The History of Catholicism in Estonia". Roman Catholicism in Estonia. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  4. "Roman-Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul". Tallinn Tourism. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.