St. Johns Church

St. John's Church, Tartu is a Brick Gothic Lutheran church, one of the points of interest of the city of Tartu, Estonia. It is committed to John the Baptist. St John's was a Catholic church, as the oldest parts of the present building begin from the fourteenth century. Before that, there has been a congregation expanding on a similar place in any event since the main portion of the thirteenth century. Archeological examinations have demonstrated that there may well have been a wooden church here in the twelfth century.

This is especially striking in light of the fact that the national Christianisation did not happen until some other time. The red block building has seen broad changes, as it was to a great extent remade after both the Great Northern War and World War II. Extravagant houses of prayer were included 1746 and 1769. The congregation is currently part of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church.

The most extraordinary component of St. John's is its abundance of earthenware puppets encompassing the congregation's outside. Initially, there were in excess of a thousand hand-made dolls, each unique in relation to the others; now, around 200 have survived. The extensive number of individual dolls has brought forth the speculations that they may have been designed according to nationals of Tartu; then again, some of them wear crowns, which indicate they may portray another person.