Petäjävesi Old Church, Petäjävesi, Finland

Petäjävesi old church was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. It was designed and built in 1763-64 by a local peasant master-builder, and in 1821 his grandson added the bell tower at the west end. Petäjävesi was then part of the Jämsä congregation, but the trip to Jämsä church was too long for local people. The Crown of Sweden had accepted the request to build a graveyard and a small village church at their own expense as early as in 1728, but building was delayed nearly forty years. The church was located to a typical old countryside site. It was chosen so that the parishioners got easily there by boat or in the winter stay over.

When the newer church was completed in 1879, old church was abandoded for nearly for decades. The period of neglect between 1879 and the 1920s was a blessing in disguise. The historical importance of the church was noticed first by the Austrian art historian Josef Strzygowski in the 1920s. After 1929 church is renovated several times.

Petäjävesi olf church is a very unique and well-preserved wooden church representing the wooden architecture tradition of eastern Scandinavia. Nowadays it’s a popular tourist attraction and open every day in summer time (in winter season by appointment).

Address

Vanhankirkontie 7, Petäjävesi, Finland

See all sites in Petäjävesi

Details

Founded: 1763-1764
Category: Religious sites in Finland
Historical period: The Age of Enlightenment (Finland)

More Information

www.petajavesi.fi
en.wikipedia.org
whc.unesco.org

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Aviation Museum of Central Finland (29,9 km)
Keuruu Old Church (24,5 km)
Muurame Church (28,5 km)
Kuorevesi Church (42,5 km)

User Reviews

Frederic Mourlan (5 years ago)
Cute wedding

Lukáš Elektrikář (5 years ago)
Awesome place!

Sandra Hasandra (5 years ago)
It was closed we couldnt see anything inside

Wilfred Ngalawa (5 years ago)
A 1723 building made of wood only and sitting on stones no cement used. What an amazing piece of art

Alice Lunghi (6 years ago)
The church is really nice, something that you rarely would see somewhere else as it is entirly made with wood. The church is small, but it's really interesting both for the architecture and for the history. If you're visiting it in winter remember to wear warm clothes as the church is not heated.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright joiseyshowaa

Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.

Petäjävesi Old Church