Pielpajärvi Wilderness Church

Inari, Finland

Pielpajärvi is the old centre of Inari. In former times, there was a winter village of Inari by the shore of this wilderness lake where people gathered to stay for the winter months. The church, built in the winter village in 1760, is one of the oldest buildings in northern Lapland. The reddish church stands on a stone field lined by a beautiful birch wood. A natural-state meadow now grows on the church grounds.

The wooden wilderness church of Pielpajärvi is the second church in this very spot. All the remains of the first church, which was completed in 1646, have disappeared, and only the decaying foundations of a few buildings are left from the winter village. The Pielpajärvi Wilderness Church and the nearby areas form a nationally valuable cultural heritage area. It has also been classified as a regionally valuable landscape area.

The Pielpajärvi Wilderness Church can be visited throughout the year. Information on directions is available on the Inari Hiking Area's webpages.

Reference: Outdoors.fi

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Address

Luosmantie 317-679, Inari, Finland
See all sites in Inari

Details

Founded: 1760
Category: Religious sites in Finland
Historical period: The Age of Enlightenment (Finland)

More Information

www.outdoors.fi
www.saariselka.fi
www.360cities.net

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

Karlheinz Markhof (3 years ago)
Nach einer etwas anspruchsvolleren Wanderung (vor allem wegen der Wurzeln und Steine), die ganz sicher kein Spaziergang ist, wie hier manche euphemistisch urteilen, kommt man an dieser abgeschiedenen Kapelle an, die mehr wegen ihrer Lage, ihres Baumaterials und ihrer Geschichte beeindruckt. Eine architektonische Glanzleistung sieht anders aus, aber man muss bedenken, dass dieses Bauwerk in Eigenregie entstanden ist.
Kalevi Niemelä (3 years ago)
Hieno paikka, mykistää, Herättää historian tutkijan,ainakin Hetkeksi. Mitä?kuinka? Miksi?
Tuomas Haiko (3 years ago)
You can feel past time and old age.
Miska Metsänen (3 years ago)
The hike from the parking lot to the church is a bit demanding, because of all the roots and stones on the path. The nature is nice and varied a lot. The church itself is an old wooden building, where you can discover almost every corner of. Once or twice a year, they're also doing prayer services, e.g. on midsummer day. 100-150 meters away is a small camp place, where you can relax, eat or make a coffee on the fire place.
Hamish Hay (6 years ago)
Beautiful church hidden in the woods - well worth the hike! Bring some matches for the fire stop halfway, and next to the church.
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