Finland - Porvoo Cathedral (FI-507799)

I've been receiving a lot of Finnish official cards (just today 3 new ones have arrived here!), so I think I'll have to make updates with cards from this country even more often :) Now I have 10 Finnish cards waiting to be shown on this blog :) Some people complain about receiving too many Finnish landscapes, but, fortunately, I don't have this problem. I'm satisfied with the proportion of landscapes, city views, maps and cards showing people in national costumes in my collection of Finnish cards, which is getting really large :)

This card shows the Porvoo cathedral, which isn't very big (actually, I was surprised to read it was a cathedral), but is quite old - it was built in 15th century (some parts in 13th century).

FI-507799

Porvoo cathedral (Finnish: Porvoon tuomiokirkko, Swedish: Borgå domkyrka) is a cathedral in Porvoo, Finland. It was built in the 15th century, although the oldest parts date from the 13th century. It is used by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and is the seat of the Diocese of Borgå, Finland's Swedish-speaking diocese. The cathedral is also used for services by the Porvoo Finnish-speaking parish, which is administratively part of the Diocese of Helsinki.

The church has been destroyed by fire numerous times; in 1508 by Danish and in 1571, 1590, and 1708 by Russian forces. On May 29, 2006, the outer roof collapsed after arson, however with the inner ceiling undamaged and the cathedral interiors intact.

The Cathedral was the site of opening of first Diet of Finland March 28, 1809 where Finland was declared an autonomous Grand Duchy, with the Emperor of Russia as the Grand Duke of Finland.