"St. John's Church was completed in 1891 on top of the Punanotko hill, on the outskirts of the city at the time. The church was designed by Adolf Emil Melander from Stockholm. St. John's Church was initially called Uusi kirkko (New church). It came in useful, because the Helsinki residents could not all fit into the Old Church or St. Nicholas Church, the current Cathedral. The new church, built on top of the hill where midsummer bonfires were held, became a shrine named after John the Baptist.
The cathedral-style St. John's Church is located in southern Helsinki, on the boundary of the Kaartinkaupunki and Punavuori districts. The church represents the neogothic style. The floor plan is cross-shaped. The exterior is characterised by a massive granite footing and red brick brickwork. Two 74-metre towers rise at the north-eastern end, above the main entrance. Next to the main entrance is a statue by sculptor, Kari Juva, of John the Baptist, from 2003.
The building is 59 metres long and the inside length of the nave is 42 metres. The tall arched windows, rose windows in the gables and numerous small windows with their decorative and coloured panes create impressive lighting effects. Circular rose windows, painted with transparent colours on pieces of glass, and often of a mosaic style, are found in the tower side gables of a Gothic cathedral. The rose is the symbol of Virgin Mary.
Numerous chandeliers and sconces also light up the church. The light fixtures, window panes and altar decorations are from Stockholm. The four brass wall brackets closest to the altar carry the symbols of the four evangelists. The other wall brackets are decorated with dragons.
The benches, pulpit, altar and baptism table of the church were designed by the architect of the church. The ends of the benches, the pulpit and the altar repeat the trifoliate clover motif, inherited from the Celts, and a very common Holy Trinity motif in Gothic imagery.
The altarpiece drafting contest was won by artist, Albert Edelfelt, with his subject, Bethlehem. However, it was never implemented because of disputes between the artist and the architect. When an altarpiece was finally received in 1932, it was Taivaallinen näky (Heavenly sight) by artist Eero Järnefelt, which depicted the conversion of Saul. Before Järnefelt’s last great work of was completed, a light cloth painted blue stood in place of the altarpiece.
At the highest point of the altarpiece is the leader of the heavenly host, the archangel Michael, a little lower, the Lamb of God, symbolising Jesus, and on the sides, the apostles Peter and Paul sculpted from wood. Below the altar can be found the letters alpha and omega, signifying the beginning and the end, and the Christ monogram. Above the altar is a small cabinet, where blessed communion wafers or relics are kept, in accordance with catholic requirements.
It also took a long time to obtain the bells. In autumn 1932, the electrically operating bells were lifted up to the north tower. They play the first three notes of Te Deum, Cis, E and Fis. The bells were manufactured by Tampere Lokomo Oy.
St. John's Church has a font made of hammered copper, commissioned from sculptor, Emil Cededcreutz, in 1940. Its stand was made at the artistic forge of Antti Hakkarainen. The mass cassock with a lamb theme is the handiwork of textile artist Hanna Loimaranta, from 1927.
The church textiles from different eras show the changes in the rituals and the adoption of liturgical colours. The textiles are decorated with different Christian symbols. The symbols include, for example, a lamb, a dove, an ear of corn, a bunch of grapes and grapevine, an equilateral triangle, three-leaf and four-leaf clover, and the character symbols IHS, the Hebrew abbreviation of Jehovah, the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet, alpha and omega, and the Christ monogram. New textiles have, for example, five loaves of bread and two fish, a crown of thorns, a three-leaf clover and different cross models such as the Jerusalem cross, Greek cross, quadrate cross and circular cross.
The old mass cassocks were only red, black and white. Gold and silver have since been added to cassock decoration. The new textiles made after the 1950s display all five colours of the ecclesiastical year.
The original communion requisites, designed by Hjalmar Fagerroos, follow the neo-gothic style. They repeat the Christ monogram, cross and palm branch, crown of thorns and three- and four-leaf clover. At the turn of the millennium, the parishioners donated communion cups made by silversmith, Henrik Kihlman, to the church.
It is possible to spread a matrimonial rug by textile artist, Irma Kukkaisjärvi, under the feet of the bride and bridegroom.
The 66-stop organ was made by German organ factory, E.F. Walcker & Co. in 1891. The organ was renewed in 1956 to be 74-stop. The renovation completed in 2006 aspired to the tone planned for it by the first organist of the church, Oskar Merikanto. The acoustics are good in the church, and it is a popular venue for concerts. The church also has a grand piano.
Over the years, several repairs and changes have been made to St. John's Church. The wall surfaces of the church were originally plastered in a greenish grey colour. The top parts of the walls and arches had decorative patterns. During later renovations, the walls were covered with a solid light colour. In the latest renovation, some of the old decorative painting layer has been revealed on the wall of the public gallery. Just before the centennial of the church, its cellar was partly taken into use.
Counting the seats, St. John's Church, part of Johannes församling, is the biggest stone church in Finland. It seats 2,600 people. It has become familiar to all of Finland from the popular TV series, Kotikatu."
SOURCE - (
visit link)
Suomi -
"Johanneksenkirkko on uusgoottilainen evankelis-luterilaisen ruotsinkielisen Johannes församlingin kirkko Helsingin Ullanlinnassa, keskusta-alueen eteläosassa Korkeavuorenkadun varrella. Kirkko rakennettiin vuosina 1888–1891 ja sen korkeimmat osat ovat 74 metriä korkeat koillispäädyn tornit. Kirkon suunnitteli tukholmalainen arkkitehti Adolf Emil Melander, jonka ehdotus voitti vuonna 1878 järjestetyn kilpailun. Kirkkoon mahtuu 2 600 ihmistä, ja se on paikkaluvultaan Suomen suurin kivikirkko. Kirkko on Suomen uusgoottilaisten kirkkojen pääesimerkki. Alttaritauluna on Eero Järnefeltin 1932 maalaama Taivaallinen näky. Sen aiheena on Jeesuksen opetuslapsia vainonneen Saulus Tarsolaisen eli apostoli Paavalin kääntyminen kristinuskoon Damaskoksen tiellä. Kelloja kirkossa on kolme. Kirkon vihki käyttöön Porvoon piispa Carl Henrik Alopaeus 13. joulukuuta 1891. Kirkon etuseinässä on Kari Juvan veistos Johannes Kastaja vuodelta 2004.
Kirkkoa ympäröi Johanneksenpuisto, jossa on nurmialueita, leikkipuisto sekä hiekkakenttä, joka jäädytetään talvisin.
Arkkitehti Melander suunnitteli itse kirkon penkit, saarnatuolin, alttarilaitteen ja kastepöydän. Koristelussa on käytetty paljon kolmiapila-aihetta, joka on tyypillinen goottilainen pyhän kolminaisuuden symboli. Kirkon sisätilat ovat hyvin koristeelliset lasimaalauksineen, kaari-ikkunoineen, virsitauluineen ja kattokruunuinen. Alun perin myös kirkon vihreänharmaissa, rapatuissa seinäpinnoissa oli niiden yläosissa ja holvikaarissa oli koristekuvioita. Myöhemmissä restauroinneissa (ensimmäisen kerran vuonna 1913) kuviot peitettiin vaalealla yhtenäisellä värillä. Kirkko restauroitiin sen satavuotisjuhlia varten ja silloin vanhasta koristemaalauskerroksesta paljastettiin osa yleisölehterin seinään. Kirkko vaurioitui Helsingin suurpommituksissa helmikuussa 1944; muun muassa useita ikkunoita särkyi.
Kirkon urut -
Urut rakensi alun perin saksalainen urkutehdas E. F. Walcker vuonna 1891, ja niitä on uudistettu vuosina 1921, 1937, 1956 ja 1974. Niissä on 66 äänikertaa, jotka jakautuvat kolmelle sormiolle ja jalkiolle. Vuonna 2005 saksalainen urkurakentamo Orgelwerkstatt Christian Scheffler entisti urut ja palautti Oskar Merikannon suunnitteleman disposition eli äänikertarakenteen.
Kirkon urkureina ovat toimineet muiden muassa Oskar Merikanto, Armas Maasalo, Tauno Äikää ja Pertti Eerola. Kirkon ensimmäinen kanttori oli Abraham Ojanperä, ja hänen jälkeensä kanttorin tehtävää on hoitanut muun muassa Sulo Saarits.
Johanneksenkirkolla on merkittävä osa monen helsinkiläisen adventinvietossa. Viipurin Lauluveikot -mieskuoron adventtikonsertit on alusta alkaen lähes joka vuosi pidetty Johanneksenkirkossa. Kuoron 50. adventtikonsertti pidettiin Johanneksenkirkossa vuonna 2003. Konserttien urkureina ovat toimineet muun muassa Tauno Äikää ja Pertti Eerola.
Johanneksenkirkko fiktiossa -
Johanneksenkirkko on ollut monen kotimaisen televisio- ja elokuvatuotannon kuvauspaikka. Tunnetuin on Yle TV1:n draamasarja Kotikatu (1995–2012), joka sijoittui alkuaikoinaan kirkon ympäristöön, ja kirkko toimi yhtenä sarjan henkilöitä yhdistävänä tekijänä."
LÄHDE - (
visit link)