A broken water pipe caused extensive water damage in Helsinki's Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral overnight on Saturday. Emergency Services said that the flooding began in one of the church's towers when a sprinkler pipe joint malfunctioned.
Dozens of litres of water streamed down the steps of the building into the Senate Square, but the flowing water also doused the chamber hall and the Cathedral's crypt.
The church hall was nonetheless open to visitors as usual starting from 9 am on Saturday. The main aisle did feature drying equipment, however.
Chief sexton of the Cathedral Petri Oittinen says that water got into the altar quire and the main aisle carpet.
"A great deal of water also flowed into the Cathedral crypt, which is sort of like the church's cellar and is located directly below the main church hall," Oittinen says.
The Cathedral's crypt often hosts art exhibitions, but there were no works of art on display at the time of the flooding. Plans to use the space for events in the near future may go awry due to the accident.
"Right now we're thinking that the main church hall can still be used more or less normally, as for the upcoming ecumenical service for the parliamentary opening on Wednesday," Oittinen says. "Use of the crypt will have to be curtailed due to the water damage and associated drying and cleaning procedures."
Wet electrical sockets and other technical problems will need to be assessed by professionals on Saturday. Church officials say that estimating the extent of the water damage in euros is not yet feasible.
The first to notice and report the damage was an organ player who was rehearsing in the church late on Friday evening. The organs of the church hall and the crypt appear to have remained dry.