PRESS RELEASE – June 28, 2005 Consecration of Tartu Jaani (St John’s) Church The festive reopening of Tartu Jaani Church will take place on June 29, 2005. The solemn consecration service will be led by the Most Revd Andres Põder, the Archbishop of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC), he will be assisted, among others, by the Right Revd Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter, the Bishop of the Holstein-Lübeck district of the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the Most Revd Jaan Kiivit, the Archbishop em. of the EELC. The festivities will continue with an official reception in Vanemuine Concert Hall and with a concert in Jaani Church. Among the invited guests are Arnold Rüütel, the President of the Republic of Estonia, and Horst Köhler, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, who has arrived in Estonia for a two-day visit together with his wife. Tartu Jaani Church is one of the most significant retained monumets of the medieval architecture in Estonia. It was built in the 14th century and is famous for its terracotta sculptures (i.e. sculptures made of burnt clay), which cover both the interior and the exterior of the building. From the original two thousand sculptures about thousand have retained. There is no other building in the entire European Gothic tradition that could compete with Tartu Jaani Church in the number, size and quality of the terracotta sculptures. The church was almost completely destroyed during the offensive of the Soviet troops in August 1944. The restoration work began in 1989 and was completed in 2004. After reopening, Tartu Jaani Church will function as a congregation church and as a concert hall. It will also be opened for visitors. More information about Tartu Jaani Church: www.tartu.ee (in English) www.tartu.ee (in German) 28.06.2005