Jugendstijl

There were two architectural surprises in Finland. One was the amount of Jugendstijl (art nouveau) to be found in the cities we visited. And the second was one of its greatest proponents, Lars Sonck (1870-1956).

Our friends in Dalsbruk recommended that when in Turku we visit St Michael?s Church. A little bit of research on the net beforehand revealed it to have been newly-qualified Lars Sonck?s winning competition entry in 1894. For the church to go with such a young architect?s very ambitious design was a bold step indeed, but one that was handsomely rewarded.

I was entranced by it. The proportions, the materials, the stunning craftsmanship and the wonderful mystical interior decoration by his colleague, artist Willy Baer. What a pity that the Blipfoto format only allows one image, as it is difficult to do this wonderful building justice in a single photograph (I have scores). The incredible organic carvings in stone and timber, the beautiful flowing decoration, the exquisite copper details ? all were stunning, as was the brick exterior, whose soaring spire is a Turku landmark.

The guide told me that Sonck?s reputation and workload had taken off as a result of this first design, and he became so busy that his client at St Michael?s became unhappy with the lack of attention they were getting, and disputes ensued. It seems that his assistant actually finished the job on site. Construction lasted from 1899 till 1904.

Sonck?s work featured in our subsequent visits to Tampere and Helsinki and, I have to say somewhat overshadowed my ambitions of seeing the work of Alvar Aalto. Largely unknown in the west, Lars Sonck must be one of the great figures of the Jugendstijl; certainly he is recognised in his native Finland, and rightly so.