St Mary's Cathedral, Tallinn
The Tallinn Cathedral (Estonian: Tallinna Toomkirik ) is one of the landmarks of the Estonian capital. It is located on Toompea in Tallinn. The Tallinn Cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The church was originally a Roman Catholic cathedral. With the completion of the Reformation in Estonia in 1561, it became the Lutheran Cathedral. Today, it is the bishop's church of the Archbishop of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church.
History
The first church on the present site was probably in 1219, shortly after the conquest of today's Cathedral Hill in the Battle of Lyndanisse built. She is a Danish foundation and probably represents the first Christian church on the Estonian mainland ever dar.
The first church was made of wood. With the arrival of Dominican monks from the monastery Danish Ribe 1229, the church was replaced by a stone. 1233 the monks came in clashes between Danish vassals and the Livonian Order, died. A letter to Rome the same year asking for the re- consecration of the church, is the first written document of the Church on Cathedral Hill.
1240 the nave building was completed and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Since this year, it bears the name Cathedral. Beginning of the 14th century began extensive renovation work, the extended church. Since the 1330s, the church was rebuilt along the lines of Gotland churches in a three-aisled basilica in Gothic style. A hundred years later the work was completed.
In the great fire on Cathedral Hill on June 6, 1684, the church was greatly affected. Several arches and the chancel collapsed. Art-historically valuable stone carvings were destroyed. Shortly after the fire, the church was restored largely original. The new Baroque features, including Wappenepitaphe, the high altar and the pulpit is decorated with figures of the Apostles, comes primarily from the workshop of Tallinn Master Christian Ackermann. A work of the sculptor Heinrich ( Hinrik ) Martens is by the elders of the Domgilde Hermann 1694 Rahr donated and gilded by the master painter Lorenz Buchau Calvary, the " Golgotha Group ", a four meter tall crucifix, flanked by sculptures of Mary and John.
1778/79, a new Baroque church tower at the west end of the nave was added. Two of the four church bells date from the 17th century, the other from the 18th century both. Dominant inside the church are the two family lodges of the 18th century ( from Patkul and von Manteuffel ). The altar painting " Christ on the Cross " comes from the Düsseldorf painter Eduard Gebhardt ( 1866).
The Tallinn Cathedral is also known for its numerous grave slabs from the 13th to the 18th century and for their stone sarcophagi dating from the 17th century. Darunder are grave times of Pontus de la Gardie and his wife Sofia Gyllenhielm, Carl Huringson Horn (both by Arent Passer ), Adam Johann von Krusenstern, Samuel Greig, Caspar von Tiesenhausens, Hermann Rahr, Reinhold Otto von Taube and Otto von Uexküll.
The walls of the cathedral adorn the 107 Wappenepitaphe the Baltic German nobility of Estonia.
Ladegast organ
The organ of the cathedral in 1878 made by Weißenfelser organ builder Friedrich Ladegast and modernized 1913/14, from the Wilhelm Sauer organ workshop. It was founded in 1998 with the financial support of the German Embassy in Tallinn extensively restored by the organ workshop Scheffler and is today one of the leading concert organs in Europe. The instrument has 73 registers on three manuals and pedal.
- Couplers: II / I (also known as sub-and Superoktavkoppeln ), III / I, III / II, I / P, II / P III / P;
- Accessories: three free combinations, three fixed combinations (p, mf, f), three fixed pedal combinations (p, mf, f), crescendo
Curiosities
Near the main entrance there is a stone slab with the inscription: " grave of Otto Johann Thuve, landowner Edise, Vääna and Koonu, 1696 AD" According to legend, Thuve was a particularly lecherous man who loved lavish parties with wine, women and song. However, on his deathbed he was overcome by remorse. Therefore, he asked to be buried at the threshold of the cathedral, so that the God-fearing people who kneel in prayer at the church entrance, may save his soul. The mocking Tallinn popular saying, however, Thuve asked to look after his death the young women 's skirts.