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

Alex L (3 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 (4 years ago)
Beautiful old wooden "double cross" church.

Soheil (4 years ago)
Heart of the city, always a nice atmosphere, quite many cafés, bars and shopping centers are also around.

Markus Müller (4 years ago)
Old former Orthodox Church

Markus Mueller (4 years ago)
A former orthodox church in what is now the the center of Wildmansstrand.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historical Gems of Costa Verde

Timeless Treasures of Wales

Photo from Flickr, copyright Fagerjord

Historic Site of the week

Santa Maria in Trastevere

The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere is one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and wall structure of the church date back to the 340s, and much of the structure to 1140-43. The first sanctuary was built in 221 and 227 by Pope Callixtus I and later completed by Pope Julius I.

The inscription on the episcopal throne states that this is the first church in Rome dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, although some claim that privilege belongs to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. A Christian house-church was founded here about 220 by Pope Saint Callixtus I (217-222) on the site of the Taberna meritoria, a refuge for retired soldiers. The area was made available for Christian use by Emperor Alexander Severus when he settled a dispute between the Christians and tavern-keepers.

The church underwent two restorations in the fifth and eighth centuries and in 1140-43 it was re-erected on its old foundations under Pope Innocent II.