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- Title
WHY IS THERE A TREFOIL MOTIF FROM KARJA CHURCH IN PIKK STREET IN TALLINN? BASED ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE RESTORATION OF THE IN-SITU GOTHIC PORTAL IN PIKK STREET 7, HOW MEDIEVAL IS THE MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE OF TALLINN OLD TOWN?
- Authors
Paju, Risto
- Abstract
Although Tallinn is known for its authentic medieval architecture, the closer to details we delve, to view the medieval buildings from the perspective of particulars, or the history of things, following the method of its apologist Ivan Gaskell, and take one concrete artefact as a starting point and basis, the more variegated the picture becomes. The portal of the medieval building in Pikk Street 7 contains some of the more interesting restoration questions. This article here looks at the story of the restoration of a Gothic portal of a medieval residence in Tallinn. When we stand on Pikk Street today and take a cursory look at the portal of the house number 7, with the masonry windows on either side of it, it may seem that this medieval portal ensemble has survived as well as the one in Vene 17 in Tallinn. However, the portal of Pikk 7 has been chosen as the subject of this article because it contains one of the most interesting and well-documented restoration stories of a medieval Gothic portal in Tallinn Old Town. How did it happen that these two leave a similar impression? The article submits that the residence at Pikk 7 is indeed partially part of the medieval stonemasonry tradition of Tallinn, but certainly to a lesser extent than the portal of Vene 17, which has survived in its original shape and place and has not been demolished and restored. The perspective portal of Pikk 7 is medieval to the same extent as it is from the 20th century and adds to the restoration history of Tallinn as much as to the studies of the medieval architecture of Tallinn. The Middle Ages have been the main target era and Gothic the main target style of the restoration of the building at Pikk 7 – the end results have been aimed at the dominance of those. However, it was decided not to restore the high gable with the blind niches that characterise the medieval residences of Tallinn. The article is based on official restoration documentation, restoration critique in the press, and personal work memoirs of restorer Arne Joonsaar.
- Subjects
TALLINN (Estonia); MEDIEVAL architecture; MEMOIRS; STONEMASONRY; STREET addresses; MASONRY; CITIES &; towns; MIDDLE Ages
- Publication
Baltic Journal of Art History, 2022, Vol 23, p9
- ISSN
1736-8812
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.12697/BJAH.2022.23.02