Tampere Cathedral Frescoes

Tampere Cathedral Frescoes


Tampere, Finland

The Garden of Death Geordie Explorer (Atlas Obscura User)

The frescoes and paintings inside the Tampere Cathedral in Finland, created by Finnish symbolist painter Hugo Simberg in the early 1900s, are a national treasure, incorporating his trademark themes of mortality and the supernatural.

The Wounded Angel Geordie Explorer (Atlas Obscura User)

Simberg was fascinated by the idea that death and decay are all around us.

The image of serpent with an apple in its mouth caused a controversy. Geordie Explorer (Atlas Obscura User)

One of the recurring images he included in his work was a skeleton wearing a black cape.

The exterior of the Tampere Cathedral. Mirkko Paananen/CC BY-SA 3.0

Though viewers at the time initially found the symbols and figures in his work odd and disturbing, they slowly grew accustomed to Simberg’s style. He was commissioned to decorate the interiors of the new cathedral in Tampere, being built in 1902, at the height of Finland’s National Romantic movement at the turn of the century.

Stained glass within the cathedral Geordie Explorer (Atlas Obscura User)

At the time, there was much opposition to the policy of Russification, and the Finnish asserted their identity through art and architecture.

The cathedral was designed by Lars Sonck. Geordie Explorer (Atlas Obscura User)

This is beautifully depicted at Tampere Cathedral (then called St John’s church), which is adorned with stained glass work, frescoes, and paintings. The most famous are Simberg’s macabre frescoes.

Tampere Cathedral Jaszmina Szendrey (Atlas Obscura User)

On the upper floor you can see “The Wounded Angel,” voted Finland’s national painting in 2006.

Tampere Cathedral Jaszmina Szendrey (Atlas Obscura User)

It depicts two boys, one of whom looks directly at the viewer, carrying a bandaged angel on a stretcher.

Tampere Cathedral Jaszmina Szendrey (Atlas Obscura User)

“The Garden of Death” can be seen on the ground floor near the altar. According to a note by the artist on the back of his initial sketch, it depicts “the place where dead people end up before entering heaven.” The skeletons have an almost kindly appearance as they tend to the plants in the nursery. The most controversial of Simberg’s creations for the church was the serpent holding an apple in its mouth, which decorates the highest point of the ceiling. This was viewed as a symbol of corruption and sin and his critics termed it unsuitable for a church and called for its removal. Even as late as 1946, there was a proposal by the bishop of the Tampere diocese that it be removed. Know before you go: The cathedral is open daily but hours are often restricted due to its popularity for weddings and baptismals. The upper part of the cathedral is closed for general visiting, however if you ask politely you may be allowed to go upstairs to look more closely at 'The Wounded Angel'.

Address: 12 Tuomiokirkonkatu, Tampere, Finland

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