Vormsi Cross

Here's another example of an ancient Pagan symbol being adopted by Christianity

Estonia, now an independent republic, has at various times been under the rule of Danes, Swedes, Germans and finally Russians. As a result, there is diversity of cultural footprints on the island, one such example being the Vormsi Cross.

Hullo cemetery

Vormsi (German: Worms; Swedish: Ormsö) is a sparsely-populated island to the west of the Estonian mainland. The island has been inhabited since the 13^th century but the cross design is much older than that.

Vormsi's main hamlet is named Hullo where we find St. Olaf's Lutheran Church. To the north is a wooded cemetery that contains over 300 circular sandstone and limestone grave markers, which date back to the 17^th and 18^th centuries. By that time, Vormsi had been settled by Swedish Estonians for hundreds of years, which suggests that the design reflects Swedish influence rather than Russian or German.

Celtic

The Vormsi Cross differs from the more common North European Celtic Cross in that the cross arms do not extend much, if at all, beyond the circular rim. Further, all four cross members of the Vormsi Cross have the same length.

See our related page on the Sun Cross for more.