Description of the attraction
Medieval architectural monuments are a valuable part of the architectural heritage of Estonia. A special place is occupied by the Tartu Jaan Church, primarily due to the decorative details made of fired clay - terracotta. Initially, their number was more than 1000. Over the entire period of the history of the church, not all terracotta sculptures have survived, but still a large number of these figures are intact and we can observe them today.
Although terracotta was a well-known and widely used material in medieval architecture, among the buildings built at that time, there is no structure that could compete with the Jaanovsk Church in terms of size and high level of sculpture in this technique. Thanks to this feature, the church is a quite noticeable architectural monument on the scale of the entire Western European Gothic.
Throughout its history, the church has been repeatedly destroyed and restored, but its medieval appearance is easily guessed today. St. John's Church is a three-aisled building with a powerful western tower. Since the church was not built according to a single plan, it received its final appearance after repeated additions and rebuildings, as well as catastrophes. The exact start date and progress of construction are unknown. Sources say that in 1323 the parish or even the church itself already existed. Archaeological excavations have helped to restore and supplement the history of the church.
So, for example, it turned out that the history of the construction of the church goes back centuries much further than it might seem from the outward appearance of the sacred structure. Fragments of a longitudinal wooden structure discovered during excavations date back to the 12-13th centuries. It is difficult to judge the appearance of the building from such finds, but it is known for sure that it was a Christian church that existed even before the conquest and total Christianization of Estonia in the 13th century.
Most likely, the powerful western tower stood out in the architectural appearance of the church built in the second half of the 14th century. The western portal of the building was decorated with a decorative pediment, which contained 15 sculptures. In the center of the composition was Jesus, who was surrounded by Mary, John the Baptist and 12 apostles. This composition is a scene of the Last Judgment and intercession prayer for people before Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, the Baptist and the holy apostles.
The interior of the church was richly decorated, especially the central part. Unfortunately, only small remnants of its former beauty have survived to this day. The main wall between the arcades and the upper, windowed parts of the parish premises is uniquely decorated. In the rows of niches that create an illusory trefoil, there are seated sculptures under canopies, in the center there are figures in crowns and with scepters. Examples of such an exclusive design of the main wall can be found only in English Gothic. Terracotta sculptures also played a significant role in the decoration of the end walls of the central nave of the church building.
The Lubeck chapel, added much later, has come a long and difficult path in its construction. As a result, a two-vaulted room was built, which was connected to the main nave by means of a large portal.
The church was badly damaged during the Northern War, and during the Second World War, after the Soviet bombers raid on Tartu, the Jaanovsk Church burned down.
The restoration of the church began in 1989. Repair and restoration work, with frequency, was carried out until 2005. In the summer of 2005, the inauguration ceremony of the restored St. John's Church took place.
