Landmarks of Old Livonia – Church Towers, Their Symbols and Meaning

Abstract

Church towers are among the most prominent features of landscape and contain both significant architectural and symbolic value. Religion and its various beliefs and ideologies bring symbolism and meaning into the everyday lives of people. This geographical study deals with the iconography of church towers, looking closer into their regional distribution pattern and analyzing their connotation within the former territory of Old Livonia (now encompassed by present-day Estonia and present-day Latvia, except for Latgale) and within the European religious context. The analysis of the distribution pattern of church tower symbols in Estonia shows significant regional variance. In the former Province of Estonia, governed by Tallinn, the cross is a dominant symbol on church towers, whereas the use of the cockerel is more widespread in the former Province of Livonia, the historic capital of which was Riga. A third historical region of Livonia, Kurland (governed by Jelgava), shares similarities in church tower symbolism with the Province of Estonia. We believe that the variance in distribution could be due to the influence of urban centers (Tallinn and Riga) in shaping the use of symbols throughout their administrative borders.

Keywords:

• cultural landscapes
• church tower symbolism
• religion
• cultural geography
• Old Livonia

Acknowledgements

Research for this paper was supported by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence in Cultural Theory), the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research target funded research program no. SF0130033s07 Landscape Practice and Heritage, and no. SF0180052s07, ‘Factors influencing spatial mobility of population and the impact on the regional development’, and the Estonian Science Foundation grant no. 6856 ‘Estonian National Landscape Imagery’.

Notes

Notes

1 Old Livonia comprises Estonian Province, Livonian Province and Kurland – three historical Baltic provinces of the Russian Empire. In this article, Estonia refers to present-day Estonia. By Estonian Province we mean the northern part of present-day Estonia while the Livonian Province consists of the areas of south Estonia and north Latvia.

2 This imposing Orthodox church is one of the most photographed tourist sites in the old town of Tallinn, affording a clear contrast with its grandiose Byzantine architecture to the Gothic churches and the overall medieval look of the old town. An intriguing discussion arose in the Estonian media in 2007 on the front cover photo of the Estonian language-learning book published by Routledge (Moseley 2007). The onion-shaped cupolas, representing Orthodox culture, shown on the cover photo were considered inappropriate to introduce the language of a nation with mostly Lutheran background (see Schultz 2007).

3 In Gothic architecture, the finial is a common adornment on steeples. The most famous finials embellish the towers of the Cologne Cathedral. The finial of original size stands also in front of the cathedral. Several church towers, like that of the St. John's Church in Kanepi in Estonia, are decorated with the star referring to the morning star that has been used as a symbol for Jesus Christ. A ship, symbolizing seafaring, adorns the reformed church of the city of Leer in northwest Germany. A whole variety of alternate symbols may be found. A crown together with an orb and weathercock cap the tower of the Tallinn Dome Church. The weathercock of St. Anne's Church Shandon in Cork, Ireland, displays a giant golden salmon indicating the historical importance of fishery and seafaring (see http://www.thefour-facedliar.com/history/history.html). A Rusalka (mermaid) is another lesser-known steeple symbol, for example topping the Königsberg Dome Church. Many churches in northwest Germany and Holland carry a statue of a swan atop the tower. In addition, one can encounter emblems such as patron saints, dragons, galleons, violins, beggars, falcons and fetterlocks (Friar 2003).

4 An orb topped with a cross is known also as globus cruciger.

5 As a rule, the use of church tower symbols in Estonian territory is rather conservative, i.e. the earlier symbols are often reproduced (oral comments by Juhan Kilumets, art historian and restorer, September 2007).

6 A cockerel on the spire of St. Peter's Church in Riga is depicted on the reverse side of the one Latvian lat coin. http://www.bank.lv/eng/main/all/lvnaud/coin/1lats/1ls6/

7 Oral information by Helene von Schilling, June, 2005, Tallinn.

8 The cockerel of the Pärnu St. Nicholas Church (suffered in the fire of 1944 and exploded in 1954) survived the explosion and was rediscovered in 2002 in a private yard and taken to the Pärnu Museum. Commanded by Baltic Germans with roots in Pärnu, the statue was repaired. Since the church had served the German community until the resettlement of Baltic German people in 1939, the later restoration support by Baltic Germans can be regarded as a kind of symbolic act. The cockerel is currently displayed in the Pärnu Museum in front of the last pre-war aerial photograph of Pärnu, as if representing the remembrance of the pre-war Pärnu city centre that was largely destroyed.