Mary's Church of Lappee

Lappeenranta, Finland

Lappee church is a wooden so called double cruciform church situated in the centre of the city. The church was built in 1794 by Juhana Salonen, a church builder from Savitaipale. During the years the building has gone through many renovation and modification works.

Aleksandra Frosterus-Såltin has painted the altarpiece, which represents the Ascension of the Christ, in 1887. The other paintings are made by unknown artists. The existing organs are from the year 1967. The church serves travellers as a road church.

South of the church stretches the graveyard, with an evocative war memorial, which features cubist and modernist sculptures commemorating Finns who died in the Winter and Continuation Wars. The most striking depicts a mother mourning her soldier son lost in battle, by Kauko Räsänen.

Address

Valtakatu 35 / Kirkkokatu 11, Lappeenranta, Finland

See all sites in Lappeenranta

Details

Founded: 1792-1794
Category: Religious sites in Finland
Historical period: The Age of Enlightenment (Finland)

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Virgin Mary Church (0,8 km)
South Karelia Art Museum (0,8 km)
Cavalry Museum (0,7 km)
Lappeenranta Fortress (0,9 km)
Virstantolppa (0,5 km)
Lappeenranta Church (0,5 km)
Karelia Aviation Museum (3,2 km)

Trongzund Fort (51,3 km)
The Salpa Line Museum (50,6 km)
Kärnäkoski Fortress (34,2 km)
Lemi Church (20,4 km)

User Reviews

Nishanthi “nish” Kariyawasam (7 months ago)
St. Mary's Church of Lappee is a peaceful oasis in the city. The kind and welcoming father adds warmth, and its calm, silent atmosphere makes it a perfect place for reflection and spiritual connection amidst urban life.

Alex L (5 years ago)
We went for 2 days by car, took a hotel for one night in the city center, a day cost us 110 euros. I really liked the town. As always, the cleanliness and order of the Finns are impressive. Weekends are enough to walk around and enjoy all the local views. There is a large hypermarket where everything is in stock and you can get a tax refund when leaving back to Russia. For the same period, you can go to Imatra, the hotel costs about the same, which we did on the other weekend. I recommend the premises of this city.

Harri Viskari (6 years ago)
Beautiful old wooden "double cross" church.

Soheil (6 years ago)
Heart of the city, always a nice atmosphere, quite many cafés, bars and shopping centers are also around.

Markus Müller (6 years ago)
Old former Orthodox Church

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Infomastern

Historic Site of the week

Visby Cathedral

Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.