Porvoo Cathedral
Encyclopedia
Porvoo
Porvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately east of Helsinki. Porvoo is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. It was built in the 15th century, although the oldest parts date from the 13th century. It is used by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is the national church of Finland. The church professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity, and is a member of the Porvoo Communion....
and is the seat of the Diocese of Borgå
Diocese of Borgå
The Diocese of Borgå is a Diocese for the Swedish speaking minority of Finland. It is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Porvoo is also the old seat of the present-day Diocese of Tampere....
, Finland's Swedish-speaking diocese. The cathedral is also used for services by the Porvoo Finnish-speaking parish, which is administratively part of the Diocese of Helsinki
Diocese of Helsinki
The Diocese of Helsinki is a Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and the seat of the Bishop of Helsinki. Its cathedral is Helsinki Cathedral....
.
History
The church was originally made of wood. The first stone walls were built between 1410 and 1420 and in about 1450 the church was expanded four meters towards east and six meters towards south.The church has been destroyed by fire numerous times; in 1508 by Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and in 1571, 1590, and 1708 by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n forces. On May 29, 2006, the outer roof collapsed after arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
, however with the inner ceiling undamaged and the cathedral interiors intact. An eighteen year old male was found guilty and convicted to three years and two months imprisonment on August 31, 2006. The Court of Appeals later increased the sentence to six years and six months on May 15, 2007. A further appeal is pending. The Cathedral was reopened on 2 July 2008.
Diet of Finland
The Diet of Finland , was the legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906 and the recipient of the powers of the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates....
March 28, 1809 where Finland was declared an autonomous Grand Duchy
Grand duchy
A grand duchy, sometimes referred to as a grand dukedom, is a territory whose head of state is a monarch, either a grand duke or grand duchess.Today Luxembourg is the only remaining grand duchy...
, with the Emperor of Russia as the Grand Duke of Finland.