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Tallinn's Wooden Cathedral

 

Tallinn, Estonia has a number of cathedrals serving different religious groupings, but none of the others is quite as distinct as the diminutive but historic one serving the Autonomous Estonian Orthodox Church.

Tallinn,_Püha_Siimeoni_kirik,_1752-55,_1870_(1) lifarLijar/Wikimedia Commons

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The Church of St Simeon and the Prophetess Anne, to give its long name, was built in the 1750s, on the edge of Tallinn's waterfront and served mostly sailors and other members of the maritime community. Legend says much of the original structure was lumber salvaged from shipwrecks.

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It was rebuilt to more or less its present form in the 1870s when it served a Russian Navy congregation; after 1919 it was taken over by the Autonomous church. After World War II, when Estonia was part of the Soviet Union, it was deconsecrated and used for a variety of purposes.

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In the 1990s, after Estonia regained independence, it was returned to the church, and extensively restored, inside and out, and is officially protected as a cultural monument.

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During my week in Tallinn, I missed the only times it was open for services, so I have no interior pictures of my own; the one below was made by Sinnika Halme and posted on Wikimedia Commons.

1280px-Tallinn_orthodox_church_of_saint_simeon_and_the_prophetess_hanna_-_interior1 sinikka halme

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  • 1280px-Tallinn_orthodox_church_of_saint_simeon_and_the_prophetess_hanna_-_interior1 sinikka halme
  • Tallinn,_Püha_Siimeoni_kirik,_1752-55,_1870_(1) lifar

The best part of every trip is realizing that it has upset your expectations

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