MIKAEL
AGRICOLA CHURCH
Helsinki,
Finland
In the
1920s and 30s the fairly new country of Finland was
looking for a way to establish a national identity beyond what it had
inherited
from Russian and Swedish domination. To this end there were a number of
architectural competitions run including one in 1930 for a new church
area
close to the port. The award committee, though, were unhappy with the
results
which favoured the harsh functional architecture popular at the time
and so
they used zoning issues as an excuse to back out of making a decision
and
instead re-arranged the contest in 1932 with an added requirement that
contestants had to follow “traditional church
forms”.
The
contest was won by Lars Sonck – who ironically had been
part of the committee that rejected the first set of designs. Despite
the
dislike for functional architecture much of the church that was built
has a
functional feel about it, although tempered with some more formal,
church-like
additions.
The
church was dedicated to Bishop Mikael Agricola, who had
created the Finnish literary language, and was opened in 1935. It is
dominated
by the 103 metre tower and spire which can be seen from many miles
distant.
During World War II the metal part of the tower was detached and
lowered down
inside the brick part to avoid it being used as a navigation point by
enemy
bombers.
The
church, architecturally, is a mix of functionalism and
art deco, the latter being clear in the stepped base of the metal spire
and in
particular in the interior decoration, much of which was not designed
by Sonck
who had moved on to other dreams – particularly his vision of
a new quarter in
Helsinki using his designs. So others such as Muroma and Tuukkanen were
brought
in to complete the interiors.
In
2003/4 the church was renovated and now is a rather
handsome addition to the Helsinki tourist route. It is known as the
home of the
Thomas Mass for Doubters (Tuomasmessu) which has been organised here
since
1988.
Photo
- Andrew J. Müller
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