Short description: The inside of the Roman Orthodox Cathedral in Helsinki – The Uspenski Cathedral.
The impact: To me this image has more impact than is led on otherwise. If it wasn’t already implied, this cathedral shows more than is seen on the outside. Finland is primarily Lutheran and therefore has a large Lutheran cathedral in the middle of the capital city Helsinki. Although Finland has been protestant for quite some time, it is unknown to many that Finland was underneath the Russian empire at some point in time. This cathedral was built between 1862 and 1868 and is still the largest Orthodox church in Western Europe. The architecture and design of this cathedral were well thought out before construction. The leader of the Russian empire at this time built the Uspenski Cathedral to ensure dominance over the Finnish. The cathedral was built on a hill in the center of the city, so it could be seen from everywhere and outshine the Lutheran cathedral. In this image itself, you can see the inside of the cathedral. There is a lot of prevalent Russian influence and artistry. As designed by Russian architect Aleksey Gornostayev, the cathedral represents Slavic architecture and is even built with bricks from the destroyed Bomarsund fortress. Throughout our trip we noticed the Russian influence in Helsinki. Some old street signs and artifacts were still up from that period of Finnish history.
