Vainupea Chapel (Vainupea)

 chapel, orthodox christianity, listed building / architectural heritage, 1893_construction, historical building, tourist attraction

Vainupea Chapel (also Vainopea Chapel) is a chapel in Haljala rural municipality, Lääne-Viru county. The Vainupea wooden church was first mentioned in 1741. It was one of the four auxiliary churches in Haljala. At the end of the 19th century, when the old wooden church had fallen into disrepair, the Aaspere and Sauste manor house owner, the last head of the Estonian knighthood, Baron Eduard von Dellingshausen, initiated the construction of a new limestone sanctuary in Vainupea. The project drawing by architect Rudolf von Engelhardt dates from 1887. The historicist-style church-sized chapel was built in 1888–1893. In 1888, a massive stone hexagonal bell tower was built on the western side of the wooden church, and in 1891–1893, a new stone nave with high round-arched windows and a polygonal choir was built on the site of the old nave. The stylishly and richly decorated church was consecrated on St. James' Day in 1893. Services began to be held in the Vainupea chapel four times a year. However, in 1948, the sanctuary was closed, after which the chapel was looted and fell into disrepair until the restoration work began in 1989 under the leadership of Valentin Transtok, the head of the Lääne-Viru Road Administration. The Vainupea chapel was not returned to the Haljala congregation. In 2011, a unique sacred work of art was commissioned for the chapel to replace the lost altarpiece – Anu Rau's tapestry "Time of Grace". Today, the sanctuary is cared for by the Vainupea village society, which planned several repairs and renovations for the chapel for 2015–2018. In 2014, the chapel roof was repaired, the bell tower shutters and the altar room floor were replaced. The chapel hosts both church services and concerts and village society gatherings. The Vainupea chapel can accommodate a maximum of 100 people, with seating for approximately 80 people. The fact that there is no congregation makes the chapel suitable and attractive for many couples. This means that in addition to Christian weddings, secular marriage registrations can also be held in the chapel.