St. Olav's Church is one of the most beautiful sights in Tallinn built in the 13th century. From its site it is very good to inspect the city.
City's legends
There is a legend about this place. It says that the construction of the church was carried out in order to create an unusually high building for that time in the territory of Tallinn. She was to be seen from their ships by merchants, sailing to the shore.
The grandiose plan agreed to fulfill a master unfamiliar to the townspeople. As a reward, he asked for ten barrels of gold, which he would have to hand over upon completion of work.
Residents of the city said the price was too high. Then the unknown person changed the condition and said that customers would have to name his name as payment. If they succeed, he will build a building for free.
The deal was closed, but when the payment deadline approached, the Tallinn began to panic. They did not have the right amount of money. And then a spy was sent to the builder's wife. When she rocked the baby before bed, she mentioned the name of his father. It turned out that his name was Olev. So the city residents were able to fulfill the condition of the master.
The architect was annoyed that he had lost the opportunity to receive a reward for his work. He was at a great height when he found out about it. In anger, Olev released the cross that he held on to and fell to the ground. At the time of death, a snake and a frog crawled out of his mouth. The legend explains this by the fact that the builder of the temple was dealing with dark forces, because only they could help in creating such a magnificent structure.
Surviving information
The building has a rather interesting history. Before the appearance of the holy temple on this land, there was a courtyard on which merchants of Scandinavia traded. From 1015 to 1028, Olaf Haraldsson ruled here, who later was considered a saint. In honor of him, in fact, the church of St. Olav is named.
Photos of this place are striking in their beauty and attract large flows of people here. The construction is quite old. The first information about it appeared only in 1267, when church activity was already in full swing here.
The parent organization that took care of the temple was the Cisterian monastery for women named after St. Michael. Scandinavian merchants provided funds through which the St. Olav's Church (Tallinn) could function. In the 1420s, it was expanded and scaled up. Updated choirs and a basilica appeared, which were decorated with pillars with four faces. The main nave was decorated with stellar arches.
Distinctive features
Improvements were made further, so that at the beginning of the 16th century. the main tower along with the spire had a height of 159 m. At that time, there was no higher structure in the whole world.
The sailors saw the spire while still in the sea, and could navigate along it in search of the coast. Of course, for such beauty and grandeur had to pay for some of the risks associated with them.
The high spire attracted lightning bolts that struck him eight times. Thrice as a result of a thunderstorm, fires occurred that brought monstrous destruction.
For the many years that the church of St. Olav existed, history has seen everything. The triumph that the temple reached, in the minds of people, was overshadowed by the grand fire that happened in 1625. Fire was visible even on the Finnish shores. Then the championship in beauty and greatness had to be ceded to the church of St. Mary (Stiralsund).
Interesting Facts
There are notes describing the changes that the church of St. Olav experienced. At the moment, the building rises to 123.7 m. The city government has adopted a decree that none of the buildings nearby should be higher than this building.
From the records of B. Russov, the famous chronicler, you can find out that in 1547 there were tightrope walkers in Tallinn. They pulled a cane between the tower and the wall of the fortress, on which they showed tricks.
In the period from 1513 to 1523, architects were engaged in the construction of the chapel of the Virgin Mary, whose style is attributed to late Gothic. At the outer wall you can find the cenotaph - a symbolic burial dedicated to H. Pauls, who was the initiator of the construction. It depicts the Passion of Christ on eight reliefs.
Denomination of faiths
The reformation, which began on the territory of Tallinn in September 1524, affected the church of St. Olav. Since then, it has been run by Lutherans. In the 18th century, the epicenter of the pietistic Estonian awakening unfolded here.
In 1736 there was Count von Zincendorf, who taught sermons. Evangelical preachers also visited here during the 19th century. Their words greatly influenced the people of that time.
The graceful architecture of the local buildings brought travelers in admiration. Famous poem dedicated to the temple P.A. Vyazemsky, who managed to visit here several times.
Until 1944, the Lutheran German community disposed of the building. In 1950, the power over the temple passed to the All-Russian Agricultural Academy. Baptists, Christians, and Pentecostals began to pray here. The church began to be called united. The elders here were O. Tyark and O. Olvik.
The Church of St. Olav is the place where the unification of people of different faiths took place in one family. Today, a thorough repair was carried out here. After the war, the temple did not carry out vigorous activity for a long time, so updating the building was simply necessary.
In 1981, a baptistery appeared here. The entire Estonian fraternity considered this shrine to be one of the most important. For elders, hours of prayer and Bible reading were held, and on Sundays there were services similar to spiritual conferences. From 1978 to 1980, there was a "awakening", in which many people from all over the Soviet Union participated.
The most interesting
Having found out where St. Olav’s church is located and coming here for informational purposes, it can be noted that excellent conditions have been created for the choir and music due to good acoustics. Today, there are a large number of ensembles that are extremely interesting and pleasant to listen to. An excellent organ works, whose presence makes the sound surround.
What else should you pay attention to first of all, if there is very little time to carefully consider the church of St. Olav? Sights, glorifying the temple, are, first of all, arches of star-shaped form, on which a beautiful pattern is created with frame arches.
Also, you can not ignore the sculptural relief, which can be seen by looking at the altar. The beautiful building is the chapel of the Virgin Mary, located on the east side. And, of course, you should pay attention to the cenotaph in honor of H. Pavels.
Once in Tallinn, be sure to look into that part of the city where the St. Olav's Church is located. Her address: st. Lai, house 50. This is a most beautiful piece of architecture, in which all the most sophisticated and sublime features of Gothic are intertwined.