The monument to Mikael Agricola — humanist and Lutheran bishop — stood at the entrance to the Vyborg Lutheran Cathedral. The monument was lost as a result of the Soviet-Finnish war (1939–1940) and was restored in 2009 on Theater Square, near the Vyborg Lutheran Cathedral of Peter and Paul. Copies of the monument have been installed in several cities in Finland. 

He is the creator of Finnish writing, and therefore of the Finnish literary language. Agricola was an active figure of the Reformation of the Catholic Church. Since one of the ideas of the Reformation is that the Bible should be accessible to people in their native language, Mikael devised a way to write Finnish words using the Latin alphabet. He published the first book in 1543, which was a primer called “ABC-kiria.” This is how the Finnish alphabet was born. Agricola worked for more than ten years on translating the New Testament and published it in 1548. It was in Vyborg that he began his path to spiritual enlightenment, and it was here, in elementary school, that he earned the nickname Agricola, which in Latin means “farmer” or “peasant.” His real name was Mikael Olai (Olavinpoika, son of Olaf). Mikael was presumably born in 1510 into the family of a prosperous peasant living in the province of Nyland (Southern Finland). At school, the boy showed talent for languages, and at the age of ten he was sent to study in Vyborg at a Latin school. Mikael was 18 years old when the school rector, the outstanding educator and humanist Johannes Erasmus, moved to the city of Abo (now Turku), which was then the center of the Catholic diocese. The talented student followed him. It was in Abo that Mikael met followers of Martin Luther’s teachings. And in 1536, already a priest himself, he met Martin Luther in Germany.

Working tirelessly for the benefit of the Reformation, he also took part in political events and in 1556 traveled to Moscow as a member of the embassy of Gustav I Vasa. On the way back, he fell ill and died in Nykirke near Vyborg (now Polyanskoye settlement) on April 9, 1557. It is believed that he is buried in Vyborg either in the old cathedral or in the church of the Dominican monastery, but his crypt has not yet been found.

Sculptor Emil Wikström depicted the founder of Finnish writing holding an open book in his hands, delivering a sermon. At the lower part of the monument near the pedestal, there was originally a sculpture of a girl reading a book.

During the war years of 1939–1940, the monument was lost: according to one version, it was hidden by the Finns when retreating from the city. In 2009, a new monument was installed, cast according to the original design, and elements of the original monument were used in the pedestal. It is also assumed that the bishop was buried in one of the Vyborg cathedrals. The initiative to raise funds for the monument to the founder of Finnish literature was proposed as early as 1860, but the Finnish Literary Society only began to implement the idea in practice in 1901. The model of the monument to the bishop, created by sculptor Emil Wikström, was approved in 1903, and the solemn unveiling of the sculptural composition took place on June 21, 1908. The site for the monument was chosen in the very center of the city, in front of the portal of the Finnish church, which later gained the status of a Lutheran cathedral.

No contemporary image of Mikael Agricola has survived, and his appearance is unknown. Because of this, copies of the Vyborg monument became widespread in Finland: similar busts were installed in Turku (1910), Lahti (1953), and Pernaja (1959).

Using a narrative approach, Emil Wikström chose the image of a preacher and teacher with an open book. At the stone pedestal, resembling a church pulpit, there was a composition of two bronze figures: an old man listening to a girl reading to him. The composition, which included objects of professional affiliation, was meant to symbolize the cycle of life and the importance of literacy. The old Finnish inscription on the pedestal read: “Kylle se kwle Somen kielen ioca ymmerdä Kaikein mielen” — “He who has the souls of all open will understand the Finnish language.” In the final days of the Soviet-Finnish war (1939–1940), Finnish servicemen dismantled the bronze monument to take it away in parts. But these parts disappeared without a trace in the chaos of war. Finnish press published reports that the sculpture was buried underground, but searches in the vicinity of the Kalinin settlement, conducted by representatives of the Vyborg community and Finnish specialists in 1989–1990, were unsuccessful.

In 1993, a copy based on one of the author’s images of Agricola was placed in the foyer of the Vyborg city library. Since 2009, the bust has been installed at the Vyborg Lutheran Cathedral of Peter and Paul. At the same time, on the pedestal, which has not been restored in its original form, a biblical saying is inscribed in three languages: “Blessed are the peacemakers” (this inscription is placed on the side). On the front — as before, a poetic line in Finnish: “Kylle se kwle Somen kielen ioca ymmerdä Kaikein mielen.”

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_to_Mikael_Agricola

https://www.peoples.ru/state/politics/mikael_agricola/