Throughout the centuries, church has shaped people’s mental and physical environment. However, people need a mainstay even in today’s constantly changing cities. It is important to preserve local traditions to ensure both the sustainability of society and the people in it. To do so, we need to protect and preserve traditions.

 

Churches play a significant role in Tallinn’s historical architecture. Their buildings and art property form a unique cultural heritage. Estonia has acceded to the European Convention on the Protection of Archaeological Heritage, which emphasises the need for financial support from public authorities to maintain and restore local architectural heritage. According to the Heritage Protection Act, the owner of the monument is responsible for its preservation and maintenance. To ensure the preservation and safe use of church property, the cultural values of Tallinn’s churches need a systemic and conscious approach from the City of Tallinn as well as their congregations.

The church renaissance programme was launched in 2001 with a goal to restore historic churches with a high heritage value. The restoration of churches had begun on a smaller scale in 2000. As part of the programme, Tallinn provides financial aid to congregations to restore churches placed under the Heritage Protection Act, conserve their cultural values and introduce the churches and their cultural values.
 

Church renaissance 2000-2010

From 2000 to 2010, 22 churches of different denominations and their cultural monuments were restored in Tallinn. During this period, the city spent 102 million kroons (or 6.5 million euros) on church restoration. The restoration mainly consisted of facade works: The interior was restored in St. John’s Church, St. Michael’s Church, Nõmme Saviour’s Lutheran Church and the Church of St. Simeon. The highest grant was awarded to St. John’s Church, which was restored in the period 2005-2010. The restoration works cost 25 million kroons. The city allocated 19.3 million kroons for the renovation of St. Olaf’s church in the period 2001-2009 and 15.7 million kroons for the renovation of the Dome Church in the period 2000-2009. In 2011, the programme was temporarily suspended due to the financial crisis.

Church renaissance from 2016

The Heritage Protection Department of the Tallinn Urban Planning Department relaunched the church renaissance programme in 2016. The largest project of that year was the restoration of the Old Believers’ prayer house, which cost nearly 70,000 euros. The total budget of the programme was 85,797 euros.
In 2017, the largest project was the restoration of the interior of the Nõmme Rahu Church, which cost 195,000 euros. The Church of Our Lady of Kazan and Charles’s Church also received generous funding (50,000 euros each). An additional 30,000 euros was spent on restoring the Old Believers’ prayer house. The tholobate of the crossing of the Church of St. Simeon and the Prophetess Hannah was also restored (39,000 euros). The Church Renaissance programme contributed nearly 22,000 euros to the research project of great Baroque Sculptor Christian Ackermann led by the Estonian Academy of Arts as well as to the restoration works of St Mary’s Cathedral. The total budget of the programme increased to 431,616 euros.

In 2018, 218,000 euros were allocated for the restoration of the tower and facade of the Bethel Lutheran Church. This was the largest grant awarded that year. The city allocated 186,000 euros for the restoration of the facade and interior of the Church of Our Lady of Kazan and the reconstruction of its heating, electricity and ventilation system. The congregation of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul received 125,000 euros for the renovation of the church’s interior. The congregation of St. Olaf’s Church received 87,000 euros for the restoration of the roof of the south chapel of the church. Charles’s Church was granted 65,000 euros, which was used for the restoration of the organ and the church doors. Facade works began at the Church of St. Nicholas and the conservation of its icons continued (over 61,000 euros). The restoration of the Old Believers’ prayer house was completed, which cost over 34,000 euros. The restoration of the organ, chandeliers and historical art collection belonging to the Church of the Holy Spirit cost over 31,000 euros. A new cross and a lightning protection system were installed on top of the spire at St. John’s Church, which cost over 28,000 euros. In the Old Town, the tower of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church was restored and its iconostasis was conserved. The project cost nearly 28,000 euros. The total budget of the church renaissance programme was 914,673 euros.

In 2019, the largest project was the restoration of the tower, the lower part of the spire and the west facade of St Olaf’s Church and the reconstruction of the church’s viewing platform. Additionally, its south portal and about 40 faulty chandeliers were conserved. The total cost of this project was about 522,000 euros. The Church of Our Lady of Kazan was granted over 171,000 euros for the restoration of the church’s interior. The restoration of the spire and west facade of St. John’s Church was supported with more than 168,000 euros. The main stairway, windows and organ balcony of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul were restored, which cost over 75,000 euros. About 62,000 euros were allocated for the renovation of the south entrance and the stairway to the sacristy of Charles’s Church. The restoration works of the organ and art collection at the Church of the Holy Spirit were continued and a conservation and research programme for Bernt Notke’s mediaeval main altar was launched. The project cost about 49,000 euros. In Kopli, the restoration of the facades of the Church of St. Nicholas was completed, which cost about 40,000 euros. The total budget of the church renaissance programme increased to 1.1 million euros.

In 2020, the city allocated about 189,000 euros to the Church of Our Lady of Kazan for the restoration of the church’s fence, the maintenance of its courtyard and the conservation of the icon. The congregation of St. Olaf’s Church received a grant of 100,000 euros for the restoration of the church’s south chapel and the compilation of restoration plans. 70,000 euros were granted to Kalju Baptist Church for the renovation of the church’s roof and facade. The surveying works for restoration planning and the restoration of the chandeliers of the Dome Church were supported with 34,231 euros. The painting of the roof and sanctuary of the Church of St. Nicholas and the conservation of its icons cost 19,633 euros. 13,150 euros were allocated to the Church of the Holy Spirit for the research and conservation programme of the mediaeval altar and the conservation of an organ and a painting. In 2018, the total budget of the programme was reduced to 431,000 euros due to the financial crisis.

In 2021, the City of Tallinn allocated 287,000 euros to St. Olaf’s Church for various construction works (restoration of the carved windows of the south chapel, restoration of the main portal and Hans Pawels’ cenotaph, designing). The congregation of the Church of the Holy Spirit received a grant of more than 234,000 euros for facade works, continuing the research and conservation programme of Bernt Notke’s mediaeval altar and restoring the organ. Fixing the roof of the Seventh-day Adventist Church was supported with 200,000 euros. The iconostasis and icon stand of the Church of Our Lady of Kazan were restored and archaeological research on the church’s yard was started. The amount of the grant was more than 78,000 euros. 75,000 euros were granted to Charles’s Church for the restoration of the church’s windows, facade and clock system. Since they received a grant of 70,000 euros, the congregation of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul has been able to start the renovation of the church’s cellar. Their plan is to transform the cellar into a memorial chapel for Eduard Profittlich, an archbishop who was active in the years between the world wars. The restoration of the facade of the Church of St. John’s Almshouse was supported with 22,000 euros. The congregation of the Church of St. Nicholas received 4400 euros for the church’s restoration and the congregation of Old Believers received 2000 euros for the conservation of icons. 1987 euros were allocated for the preparation of the roof restoration project of St. Catherine's Dominican Monastery. The total budget of the programme was about 975,000 euros.

In 2022, Tallinn continued to support the restoration of St. Olaf’s Church and helped to fix the roof of St. Mary’s Chapel. Additionally, the city supported the first stage of conserving Hans Pawels’ cenotaph and the preparatory works for upcoming restorations. The congregation of St. Olaf’s Church received 280,000 euros. 170,000 euros were allocated for the restoration of the spire of the Dome Church and its upcoming planning and research activities. The restoration of the windows and stained glass of St. John’s Church was supported with 70,000 euros. The Church of the Holy Spirit received about 19,000 euros for the research programme of Notke’s mediaeval altar (find out more about the programme at http://notke.eu) and the conservation of the historical carved stone slabs in the church’s yard. 15,000 euros were granted for the restoration of the doors and chandeliers of Charles’s Church. The preparation of the action plan for the restoration of the facades of the Church of St. Nicholas was supported with 5773 euros. 2000 euros were granted for the conservation of the icon collection of the Old Believers’ Prayer House. The Tallinn Urban Planning Department funded the project for the renovation of the roof of the former St. Catherine’s Dominican Monastery with 9753 euros. The project was ordered in cooperation with the Tallinn City Centre Administration. In 2022, the total budget for the church renaissance programme was about 571,000 euros.

Applying for Tallinn’s church renaissance benefit