Tampere Cathedral will be one hundred years old in May. The event is being commemorated with a special stamp designed by Ilona Ilottu, Petri Salmela and Eeva Sivula of Dog design.
The picture area of the stamp is divided into two parts. The background of one section, in close-up, is the granite wall of the church and part of an Art Nouveau-inspired stylised dandelion console. On top of this the designers have placed a small, vignette-type overall view of the cathedral. On the other section of the stamp, we see a vertical view up to the starry vault, which bears the Snake Fresco by Hugo Simberg (1873–1917), which once stirred a vigorous debate and emotional responses.
The stamp will be issued on sheets of ten. The edges of the stamp sheet are decorated with a detail from the gallery rail fresco entitled the Garland Bearers, painted by Simberg.
Tampere Cathedral is a rugged masterpiece by architect Lars Sonck (1870–1956). It was built 1902–1907 as the Church of St John. It became a cathedral in 1923. The building is considered one of the major works of Finland's National Romantic-style architecture. The art in the church is the work of Magnus Enckell (1870–1925) and Hugo Simberg.
