St Mary’s Cathedral
Ornate church with celebrity tombs
A homely whitewashed structure in the centre of Toompea, St Mary’s Cathedral (known in Estonian as Toomkirik or “Cathedral Church”) doesn’t appear to have changed much since the first stone church built by Danes here in 1240.
Inside, set apart from the ordinary ranks of pews are glass-enclosed family boxes that would have been reserved for local notables, enabling them to keep their distance from the hoi polloi. Presiding over the pews is an ornate seventeenth-century pulpit by Christian Ackerman, who also carved many of the 107 coats of arms of noble families that adorn the white walls of the vaulted nave and choir.
The de la Gardie tomb
Stealing all the attention on the right-hand side of the main altar is the tomb of Pontus de la Gardie, the French-born mercenary who captured Narva for the Swedes in 1578, before massacring, it is said, 6000 of its inhabitants. The sarcophagus bears tender likenesses of Pontus and his wife, a fine piece of sculpture by local master Arendt Passer.
The Greigh tomb
Look out, too, for Giacomo Quarenghi’s Neoclassical memorial to Admiral Samuel Greigh (died 1788) halfway down the aisle, ordered by Catherine the Great as a tribute to the Scots-born seadog who led Russian naval campaigns in both the Mediterranean and the Baltic.
The tower
The church tower can be climbed for spectacular views of the city.
Cathedral Church: Tuesday - Sunday 10:00 - 16:00. Donation requested
Tower: Tuesday - Sunday: November - March 10:00 - 15:30; April, May, September & October 10:00 - 16:30; June - August 09:00 - 17:30. Tickets: €5
St Mary’s Cathedral