Helsinki Cathedral

A white neoclassical church with green domes rising above Senate Square.

It was built from 1830 to 1852 and is nicknamed the White Cathedral, though it is actually painted in three similar shades of light grey. About 350,000 people visit every year.

History

Helsinki became the capital of Finland in 1812, and in 1814 the Russian emperor Alexander I ordered a fund to be set up for two churches. The cathedral was built as a tribute to Grand Duke Nicholas I, who was the Russian emperor, and was called St Nicholas's Church until Finland became fully independent in 1917. It was built on the site of a smaller church from the 1720s. The architect Carl Ludvig Engel designed it as the high point of his plan for Senate Square.

Inside and outside

The church has the shape of a Greek cross, with the same colonnade and triangular pediment on each of its four sides. The inside is plain, in the Lutheran way, and seats about 1,300 people. The choir has statues of the reformers Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon and Mikael Agricola, and the altar painting of Jesus's burial was a gift from Nicholas I. The main organ was built in 1967 and has 57 stops.

On the globe

The model shows the white church with a big green dome and four small domes. Look for the columned fronts.