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281:. The church was clearly built to be able to function as a refuge in times of troubles, as well as a church. There are rooms above the vaults that are constructed so that they could only be reached using a ladder which could be pulled up. Also, an internal passageway just under the windows on the inside of the walls could be utilised to repel an advancing enemy.
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and the finely sculpted, originally
Romanesque portal is especially noteworthy and quite unique in Estonia. The church walls (1240-1270) are massive and the windows, coupled together, are narrow and tall. Contrasting with this is the
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form have been discovered in the walls of the tower, and it is believed that they may stem from pre-Christian times. They are rather unusual in that tombstones of this type have otherwise only been discovered in western
Estonia.
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but somehow later found its way to
Valjala. The font is richly decorated with expressive Romanesque sculptures, similar to what can be found e.g. in the northern portal of
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is one of the most notable features of the church. It is one of the oldest pieces of carved stonework in
Estonia. Scholars believe that it was made for
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288:. The tower, which was probably not completed until the 17th century, was probably also started during this period. Tombstone fragments of archaic,
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237:. The chapel was later extended and still forms the nucleus of the current church. Remnants from this earliest period of the building include
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inside the church. In 1240, the church was expanded and it got its present form of a single-nave church. The builders stayed true to
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The church tower is not original but probably built successively from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
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decoration on the west façade are typically pointed. The builders during this time possible came from
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in the church, dating from 1664 (in memory of
Andreas Fregius) and 1667 (in memory of Gaspar Berg).
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200:. It is the oldest stone church on Saaremaa and possibly the oldest surviving church in Estonia.
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383:. The older parts of the exterior of the church is evidently the product of highly skilled
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in form. For example, the windows, the vaults of the upper parts of the building, and the
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The interior of the church is characterised by the whitewashed high domed vaults. The
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The stained glass windows are made by artist
Dolores Hoffman and date from the 1970s.
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265:. Restoration works and other additions to the church henceforth were more clearly
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During the later part of the 14th century, the church got a new polygonal
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The church was again damaged in 1922 when lightning struck the building.
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The church's organ is from 1888 and made by Gustav
Normann.
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master builders, who probably also worked on constructing
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as evidenced by the round-arched portals of the church.
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370:The western facade of the church, decorated with
221:Christianity was brought to Estonia through the
341:The organ was refurbished in 2004 by Ago Tint.
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261:In 1343 the church was damaged during the
229:, in 1227. The first church was a smaller
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671:13th-century establishments in Estonia
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666:Buildings and structures in Saaremaa
391:, which dates from the same period.
681:Tourist attractions in Saare County
301:The church was damaged during the
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456:. Kunst Publishers. p. 119.
656:13th-century churches in Estonia
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182:Saint Martin's Church of Valjala
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676:Gothic architecture in Estonia
316:In 1820, Nommen Lorenzen from
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651:Lutheran churches in Estonia
320:, made the church's present
632:List of churches in Estonia
263:St. George's Night Uprising
233:built near the site of the
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16:Church building in Estonia
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454:Estonia. Cultural Tourism
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538:Photos of Valjala church
452:Viirand, Tiiu (2004).
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573:Medieval churches in
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245:depicting six of the
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91:58.40817°N 22.78878°E
534:at Wikimedia Commons
353:The baptismal font.
297:18th-20th centuries
257:14th-17th centuries
192:, on the island of
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64:Location in Estonia
416:Haapsalu Cathedral
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303:Great Northern War
235:Valjala Stronghold
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96:58.40817; 22.78878
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600:Kihelkonna Church
530:Media related to
503:. Saaremaa Museum
426:, master carver.
389:Kuressaare Castle
223:Northern Crusades
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19:Church in Estonia
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501:"Valjala church"
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385:Central European
305:. There are two
251:Romanesque forms
227:Livonian Crusade
217:The west façade.
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520:External links
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420:Riga Cathedral
412:baptismal font
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406:Interior view
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610:Pöide Church
595:Karja Church
575:Saare County
505:. Retrieved
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372:blind arches
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345:Architecture
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337:21st century
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209:13th century
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159:Architecture
118:Denomination
615:Püha Church
605:Muhu Church
424:Westphalian
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686:Kreis Ösel
645:Categories
630:See also:
430:References
381:buttresses
322:altarpiece
318:Kuressaare
271:blind arch
239:Romanesque
188:church in
170:Romanesque
149:Founder(s)
82:22°47′20″E
79:58°24′29″N
507:April 30,
366:Main gate
290:trapezoid
398:Interior
358:Exterior
311:epitaphs
247:apostles
194:Saaremaa
186:Lutheran
123:Lutheran
579:Estonia
309:carved
307:Baroque
204:History
198:Estonia
190:Valjala
139: (
134:Founded
129:History
111:Estonia
107:Country
460:
279:Sweden
267:Gothic
243:murals
231:chapel
174:Gothic
184:is a
165:Style
509:2013
458:ISBN
377:apse
286:apse
141:1227
137:1227
277:in
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472:^
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324:.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
