Kirkko, Kirkja, Kirke, Kyrka, Kyrkan (Churches)

Someone asked if we got to visit any churches on our trip. Let's see, here is a list of all the churches we visited:

1. Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik Iceland (Lutheran). Completed in 1986 it is the tallest church in Iceland. It was under scaffolding when we visited.
2. Domkirkja, Reykjavik Iceland (Lutheran) Built in 1796, It was here that sovereignty and independence were first blessed and endorsed by the church, and where Iceland's national anthem (actually a hymn) was first sung in 1874.
3. Skalhst Church, Reykjavik Iceland (Lutheran). I couldn’t find much history on this small church on the lake.
4. Frederik's Church (The Marble Church) Copenhagen Denmark (Lutheran). This Church has the largest church dome in all of Scandinavia with a span of 102 feet by 315 feet high.
5. Church of Our Saviour, Copenhagen Denmark (Lutheran). Built in the late 1600s, the golden church spire has a spiral staircase on the outside, where visitors can climb to the top. It was closed for repairs when we visited.
6. St. Alban's Church, Copenhagen Denmark (Anglican). The present church was completed in 1887 and is very near the Little Mermaid and the Resistance Museum.
7. Nikolaj Kirke, Copenhagen Denmark (Lutheran). This church was a museum and was partially occupied by a coffee shop.
8. Ravlunda Church, Skane Sweden (Lutheran). A church of our ancestors that dates back at least to the mid-18^th century.
9. Domkyrkan, Lund Sweden (Catholic > Lutheran > Ecumenical). Sweden’s oldest cathedral with construction beginning in 1080 and completed in 1145.
10. Onslunda Church, Skane Sweden (Lutheran). The church of our ancestor Nels Andersson.
11. Sodra Melby Church, Skane Sweden (Lutheran). A landmark church on the coast near Kivik.
12. Rävemåla Church, Småland Sweden (Lutheran). Completed in the late 19^th century, it was the replacement church for the original church of the Broberg, (Magnusson) and Bloom families in Älmeboda.
13. Eljaröd Church, Smaland Sweden (Lutheran). Another ancestral church on the Anderson family line.
14. Växjö Cathedral, Småland Sweden (Catholic > Lutheran). A 12^th century cathedral with a distinctive double spire, it was the seat of a bishop. With the reformation, this became a Lutheran church.
15. Storkyrkan (Coronation Church), Stockholm Sweden (Lutheran). Dating back to at least 1279, it is where the king and queens of Sweden were crowned until 1873.
16. St. Gertrude’s (Tyska kyrkan or German Church), Stockholm Sweden (Lutheran). A 14^th century church in Gamla Stan.
17. Tuomiokirkko Church, Helsinki Finland (Lutheran) The church was built in 1830-1852 as a tribute to Russian Czar Nicholas I. Until Finish independence in 1917, it was called St. Nicholas church
18. Uspenski Cathederal, Helsinki Finland (Orthodox). The distinctive red-brick church on the top of a hill makes it a landmark of Helsinki. It was built in 1862-1868 and is claimed to be the largest Orthodox church in Western Europe.
19. Cathedral at Peter Paul Fortress, St. Petersburg Russia (Orthodox). Built between 1712 and 1733, it is the final resting place of many Russian Czars.
20. St Isaacs Cathedral, St. Petersburg Russia (Orthodox). Completed in 1858 as the largest church in Russia, it was closed by the Soviets and turned to a museum of atheism. The famous Bronze Horseman statue stands in the square out front.
21. Church of our Savior on Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg Russia (Orthodox). An iconic symbol of St. Petersburg, it was built as a memorial to Czar Alexander II at the exact location where he was assassinated. It was completed in 1907 by Nicholas II.
22. Cathedral of St Peter & Pavel, Petrodvorets Russia (Orthodox). This cathedral looks much like the Church on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, but is located near the Peterhoff Palace.
23. Peter-Paul Church at Peterhoff Russia (Orthodox). The gold domes are impressive.
24. Alexander Nevsky Cathederal, Tallinn Estonia (Orthodox). Completed in 1900, when Estonia was part of the Russian empire and meticulously restored after Estonia regained independence in 1991.
25. St. Nicholas' Church, Tallinn Estonia (Catholic) Built in the 13^th century.
26. St. Olov’s Chruch, Tallinn Estonia (Lutheran) first built in the 12^th century, its spire was the tallest in the former Soviet Union, once reaching 522 feet.
27. St. Mary's Cathedral, Gdansk Poland (Catholic) The 14^th century church is the largest brick cathedral in the world. We climbed the 400 steps to the top to view the city.
28. Akershus fortress church (a wedding was in progress), Oslo Norway (Lutheran)
29. Oslo Cathedral (under construction) Oslo Norway (Catholic)

You can see pictures of most of them in a slide show here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbroberg/sets/72157605811278054/show/

Or you can look at them individually here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbroberg/sets/72157605811278054/

(The folder and slide-show also contain churches from our previous trip to Europe. )