Tampere Cathedral

Intriguing Tampere Cathedral is one of the most notable examples of National Romantic architecture in Finland. It was designed by Lars Sonck and completed in 1907. The famous artist Hugo Simberg was responsible for the frescoes and stained glass; once you’ve seen them you’ll appreciate that they were controversial at the time. A procession of ghostly childlike apostles holds the ‘garland of life’, the garden of death shows graves and plants tended by skeletal figures, while another image shows a wounded angel being stretchered off by two children. There’s a solemn, almost mournful feel about it; the altarpiece, by Magnus Enckell, is a dreamlike Resurrection in similar style. The symbolist stonework and disturbing colours of the stained glass add to the haunting ambience.