Puhavaimu 2
Tel. 644 1487
Bus: 5, 40 Trolley: 1, 2, 3, 4
Open: May- Sept 9am- 5pm Mon- Sat
Oct- Apr 10am- 3pm Mon- Sat
www.eelk.ee/tallinna
Church of St. Spirit in Tallinn (in Estonian: Püha Vaimu kirik, Pühavaimu kirik, in German: Heiliggeistkirche) - a church - originally Catholic, later Lutheran in the Old Town of Tallinn. The smallest of the medieval temples of this city.
Founded in 1300 as a two-nave chapel belonging to the neighboring
poorhouse. Initially, it was attended mainly by the sick and disabled
residents of the poorhouse and the urban poor, but later also by wealthy
merchants associated in the Great Guild located opposite. Thanks to
this, the church has become the most egalitarian temple in Tallinn. The
construction of the church was completed in 1380.
In 1524, the
church was taken over by local Lutherans. It soon became the most
important temple for them in the city: unlike other churches in Tallinn,
from 1531 sermons were preached here in Estonian, not in German. Johann
Koell (1500-1540), a pastor associated with this church, is considered
the author of the oldest surviving book printed in Estonian: a catechism
from 1535. In the 16th century, Balthasar Russow, one of the first
Livonian chroniclers, was also a parish priest here.
Built on a rectangular plan, with a nave covered with a gable roof, the church has a straight closed presbytery, and a bell tower embedded in the body on the axis, added in 1433. A new, characteristic octagonal tower, covered with a two-storey Baroque cupola, was given to the church in the 17th century. In the same century (in 1684), the oldest public clock in the city, preserved to this day, was mounted on the wall from Pühavaimu Street. The author of its wooden decorations, depicting the sun's rays and the figures of the four Evangelists, was Christian Ackerman from Königsberg.
The richly decorated interior is distinguished by a Gothic crucifix and a valuable Gothic altar by the master Bernt Notke from 1483. Also noteworthy is the Renaissance pulpit from 1597 and the wooden matroneum in the aisle with a series of 17th-century paintings with scenes by Elert Thiele. The organ, made by August Terkmann, dates from 1929. The bell on the tower is from 1433 - today it is the oldest in all of Tallinn. On the bell there is an inscription in medieval Low German: Ik sla rechte der Maghet als derne Knechte, der Wrouwen als dern Heren, des es kan mi nemant ver keren (I am calling both for young ladies and gentlemen, for ladies and gentlemen, and no one can't stop me). Two other bells come from the 17th century.