Espoo Cathedral

Espoo Cathedral is the oldest surviving building in the Finnish city - a plain medieval stone church from the 15th century. Until 2004, Espoo was an ordinary parish under Helsinki; following the creation of its own diocese, the church became the cathedral of the Lutheran Diocese of Espoo. Inside, remarkable medieval wall paintings have been preserved, dating from the early 16th century and uncovered in the 19th century after long whitewashing - they show biblical scenes in the reduced visual language typical of northern European country churches. The cathedral sits a little outside the modern city center in a quiet park, easily reached by commuter train from Helsinki Central.