Porvoo Cathedral
Porvoo Cathedral is a 15th-century Gothic church. It is believed that the church was built by the "Master of Pernå", a church builder, probably of German origin, who worked in Finland from the 1430s to the 1460s. The church became a cathedral in 1723 when the diocese of Vyborg was transferred to Porvoo.
About this building
Porvoo Cathedral was burnt down several times in the 16th century: In 1508 the church was destroyed by the Danes, in 1571 and 1590 it was burnt down by the Russians. In the 17th century, the church was restored, but in 1708, during the Great Northern War (1700-1721), it was burnt down again. At that time, the building was completely destroyed, except for the soot-covered walls, the shell vault and the vault of the northern ship. During the Continuation War in 1941, the church was hit by a bomb which fell through the roof and vaults without exploding. Finally, on May 29th 2006, the roof of the church burned completely due to arson.
The Cathedral is known to have temporarily become the "Parliament of Porvoo", opened in the Cathedral in 1809. It was in this setting that the declaration of the sovereign Alexander I (1801-1825) took place, transferring the eight former provinces of Sweden that constitute Finland to the power of the Russian emperor.
