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

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)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Siida (6,1 km)
Ukonkivi (7,2 km)

User Reviews

Karlheinz Markhof (9 months 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 (11 months ago)
Hieno paikka, mykistää, Herättää historian tutkijan,ainakin Hetkeksi. Mitä?kuinka? Miksi?

Tuomas Haiko (11 months ago)
You can feel past time and old age.

Miska Metsänen (13 months 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 (4 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.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright theaelix

Historic Site of the week

Hochosterwitz Castle

Hochosterwitz Castle is considered to be one of Austria's most impressive medieval castles. The rock castle is one of the state's landmarks and a major tourist attraction.

The site was first mentioned in an 860 deed issued by King Louis the German of East Francia, donating several of his properties in the former Principality of Carantania to the Archdiocese of Salzburg. In the 11th century Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg ceded the castle to the Dukes of Carinthia from the noble House of Sponheim in return for their support during the Investiture Controversy. The Sponheim dukes bestowed the fiefdom upon the family of Osterwitz, who held the hereditary office of the cup-bearer in 1209.

In the 15th century, the last Carinthian cup-bearer, Georg of Osterwitz was captured in a Turkish invasion and died in 1476 in prison without leaving descendants. So after four centuries, on 30 May 1478, the possession of the castle reverted to Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg.

Over the next 30 years, the castle was badly damaged by numerous Turkish campaigns. On 5 October 1509, Emperor Maximilian I handed the castle as a pledge to Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, then Bishop of Gurk. Bishop Lang undertook a substantial renovation project for the damaged castle.

About 1541, German king Ferdinand I of Habsburg bestowed Hochosterwitz upon the Carinthian governor Christof Khevenhüller. In 1571, Baron George Khevenhüller acquired the citadel by purchase. He fortified to deal with the threat of Turkish invasions of the region, building an armory and 14 gates between 1570 and 1586. Such massive fortification is considered unique in citadel construction.

Since the 16th century, no major changes have been made to Hochosterwitz. It has also remained in the possession of the Khevenhüller family as requested by the original builder, George Khevenhüller. A marble plaque dating from 1576 in the castle yard documents this request.

A specific feature is the access way to the castle passing through a total of 14 gates, which are particularly prominent owing to the castle's situation in the landscape. Tourists are allowed to walk the 620-metre long pathway through the gates up to the castle; each gate has a diagram of the defense mechanism used to seal that particular gate. The castle rooms hold a collection of prehistoric artifacts, paintings, weapons, and armor, including one set of armor 2.4 metres tall, once worn by Burghauptmann Schenk.

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Pielpajärvi Wilderness Church