The Church Hill

Ruokolahti, Finland

The church hill of Ruokolahti is situated in a beautiful site just near the Lake Saimaa. The wooden church was completed in 1854. The bell tower is perhaps the most well known building in Ruokolahti and it is also one of the oldest ones. This shingle-roofed bell tower was built by a local carpenter, Tuomas Suikkanen, who completed it in 1752.

Opposite to the bell tower is the Ruokolahti Parish Museum. It was founded in 1955 in a public granary built in 1861. There are about 2000 objects in the three-story building.

A guided tour in the church hill takes about an hour. A guide can be engaged through the Ruokolahti Tourist Office.

Reference: Ruokolahti Municipality

Address

Ukonsalmentie, Ruokolahti, Finland

See all sites in Ruokolahti

Details

Founded: 1752-1861
Category: Religious sites in Finland
Historical period: The Age of Enlightenment (Finland)

More Information

www2.ruokolahti.fi

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

The Church of the Three Crosses (5,5 km)
Border Museum (5,7 km)

Valtionhotelli (13,2 km)

User Reviews

Marja Kaarnaoja (7 days ago)
Kaunis syntymäpitäjäni kirkko, jossa äitivainaa siunattiin ja saatettiin isän viereen kirkkomaahan.

Sani R (12 days ago)
Kaunis ja hyväkuntoinen vanha kirkko

Henri Näivä (4 months ago)
Great church in a great location

Bernard Lauren (7 months ago)
A fine church

Henri Oesch (15 months ago)
Beautiful church in a particularly beautiful location. It is worth deviating.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Great Spa Towns of Europe

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Photo from Flickr, copyright Mr Phil Price

Historic Site of the week

Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre

Built around AD 90 to entertain the legionaries stationed at the fort of Caerleon (Isca), the impressive amphitheatre was the Roman equivalent of today’s multiplex cinema. Wooden benches provided seating for up to 6,000 spectators, who would gather to watch bloodthirsty displays featuring gladiatorial combat and exotic wild animals.

Long after the Romans left, the amphitheatre took on a new life in Arthurian legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth, the somewhat imaginative 12th-century scholar, wrote in his History of the Kings of Britain that Arthur was crowned in Caerleon and that the ruined amphitheatre was actually the remains of King Arthur’s Round Table.

Today it is the most complete Roman amphitheatre in Britain.