The history of the main shrine of Tampere began in 1899 with the announcement of a competition for the best architectural design of the new city church. The first-place award went to the young Finnish architect Lars Sonck, the same Sonck who designed most of the buildings in the Finnish capital.

The project called Aeternitas, which means "eternity" or "immortality" in Latin, stood out among the other 22 projects presented in the competition. It took about 3 years to develop the details, and another 5 years to bring the project into reality. The magnificent monument of sacred architecture combined several styles at once, including classical medieval Gothic and popular Finnish Romanticism.

The time of its construction coincided with the master's passion to decorate the facades with raw stone. Hence the unusual appearance of the cathedral, lined with rough granite. Rock-face, sawn granite stones were brought by barges, and the largest, weighing up to 15 tons, were transferred by horses. The walls, trims, and steps, as well as many other decorative elements, were made of granite. That was unusual for Finnish temples.

Despite the splendid facade, Tampere Cathedral is famous not for its appearance but the tallest cathedral tower in all of Scandinavia. Be sure to climb the bell tower to see the best views of Tampere and other tourist attractions. Its height reaches 64 meters. The steel structure of the sharp spire is covered with bright red brick tiles. It was no coincidence that the architect came up with this idea: the cathedral stands almost on the outskirts, and this tall bright tower makes it visible from any part of the city.

The Lutheran Church of St. John the Evangelist did not become a cathedral immediately. It took the city of Tampere almost twenty years after the construction to establish its own diocese. The new church became not only a cathedral but also the most striking example of the northern Art Nouveau architecture in modern Finland.