St. John's Church, Helsinki

St. John's Church
Finnish: Johanneksenkirkko Swedish: Johanneskyrkan
File:Johanneksenkirkko Helsinki 2006-08-15.jpg
Location	Helsinki
Country	Finland
Denomination	Lutheran
Website	www.helsinginkirkot.fi/en/churches/st-johns-church
History
Consecrated	1891 (1891)
Architecture
Architect(s)	Adolf Melander
Style	Gothic Revival
Specifications
Capacity	2,600
Administration
Diocese	Helsinki

St. John's Church (Finnish: Johanneksenkirkko, Swedish: Johanneskyrkan) in Helsinki, Finland is a Lutheran church designed by the Swedish architect Adolf Melander in the Gothic Revival style. It is the largest stone church in Finland by seating capacity.

Situated in the Ullanlinna district of Helsinki, the church was built between 1888 and 1891, the third Lutheran church in Helsinki, and still the biggest. The twin towers are 74 metres in height, and the church seats 2,600 people and has excellent acoustics, and it is therefore used for big concerts and events as well as services. The altarpiece shows Saul's conversion and the painting, called A Divine Revelation, is by Eero Järnefelt, brother-in-law to Jean Sibelius.

Johannes (John) church stands on a hill that for many centuries had been a place for Midsummer bonfires (Midsummer is now also "John's Day", Juhannus in Finnish).

The composer Oskar Merikanto was an organist here for a time.

• I.K. Inha, Helsinki d2005 132 658 (16184926889).jpg

  Korkeavuorenkatu and St. John's Church in 1908.

• Iglesia de San Juan, Helsinki, Finlandia, 2012-08-14, DD 11.JPG

  Interior of the church in 2012.

See also

• Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

External links

• (Finnish) St. John's Church at the Parish Union of Helsinki official website (English translation)