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 (2 years ago)
Cute wedding

Lukáš Elektrikář (2 years ago)
Awesome place!

Sandra Hasandra (2 years ago)
It was closed we couldnt see anything inside

Wilfred Ngalawa (2 years ago)
A 1723 building made of wood only and sitting on stones no cement used. What an amazing piece of art

Alice Lunghi (3 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 Starmetal74

Historic Site of the week

Soave Castle

Soave castle was built in 934 to protect the area against the Hungarian invasions. It was remodelled by Cansignorio of the Scaliger family in the mid-1300s. in 1365 Cansignorio had the town walls erected and the Town hall was built in the same year.

The castle underwent various vicissitudes until, having lost its strategic importance, it was sold on the private market in 1596. In 1830 it was inherited by Giulio Camuzzoni who restored the manor and in particular the surroundings walls (with is twenty-four towers), the battlements and living-quarters.

Soave castle is a typical medieval military edifice, commanding the neighbourhood of the city from the Tenda Hill. It comprises a mastio (donjon) and three lines of walls forming three courts of different size. The outer line, with a gate and a draw bridge, is the most recent, built by the Venetians in the 15th century. It houses the remains of a small church from the 10th century.

The second and larger court, the first of the original castle, is called della Madonna for a fresco portraying St. Mary (1321). Another fresco is visible after the door leading to the inner court, and portrays a Scaliger soldier. The mastio is the most impressive feature of the castle. Bones found within showed it was used also as prison and place of torture.

The House called del Capitano (the Scaliger commander) houses Roman coins, weapons parts, medals and other ancient remains found during the most recent restoration. Adjacent is a bedroom with a 13th-century fresco with St. Mary and Madeleine and a dining room with medieval kitchenware. Another room houses the portraits of the most famous Scaliger figures: Mastino I, Cangrande, Cansignorio and Taddea da Carrara, wife of Mastino II; the portrait of Dante Alighieri testify an alleged sojourn of the poet in the castle.

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Petäjävesi Old Church