Mikael Agricola
Emil Wikström
1953
Bronze
In 1908, Emil Wikström sculpted a monument to Mikael Agricola, the father of written Finnish language, for the town of Vyborg. The original sculpture disappeared during the Second World War. In 1950, the Lahti city council purchased, from Wikström’s estate, the right to make a bronze cast of the upper part of the Vyborg monument for a replica. The statue was seen as a tribute to the people of Vyborg, who had lost their statue, and to the mothers of Häme Province, Mikael Agricola’s home region.
Mikael Agricola (c. 1510–1557) is known not only as the father of the written Finnish language but also as the Bishop of the Diocese of Turku and a Protestant reformer. His accomplishments include the publication of the first Finnish-language ABC and prayer books and the translation of the New Testament into Finnish. Finnish Language Day is celebrated on 9 April, the day of Mikael Agricola’s death.
Artwork on the map
In Erkonpuisto park, opposite Lahden yhteiskoulu school. –
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