The Church of the Three Crosses, Imatra, Finland

The Church of the Three Crosses (Vuoksenniska chruch), designed by academician Alvar Aalto, is architecturally an interesting building. Its slender, high belfry describes a down shot arrow. Instead of the altar painting there are three crosses. Among the 103 windows only two are identical. Aalto planned the church also for other activities in the parish besides services. Therefore the church can be divided into three parts. In the church there are seats for 800 persons. The windows and lightning are high up, which creates fascinating display of light and shadow. The Church of the Three Crosses was completed in 1957. The stained glass on the ceiling is as old as the church and also designed by Alvar Aalto.

Address

Ruokolahdentie 27, Imatra, Finland

See all sites in Imatra

Details

Founded: 1957
Category: Religious sites in Finland
Historical period: Independency (Finland)

Rating

4.1/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

The Church Hill (5,5 km)
Border Museum (2 km)

Valtionhotelli (8,8 km)

User Reviews

Tom Hattula (2 years ago)
A nice little church designed by Alvar Aalto. You can recognize Aalto's handprint in all the small details. The church is also known as Vuoksenniska church. Fin liten kyrka ritad av Alvar Aalto, well worth a visit.

Andrea Nicoletti (3 years ago)
Opening hours to be checked in advance, the property is in need of restoration work which should begin shortly, according to the signs.

Liisa Pietilä (3 years ago)
The church designed by Alvar Aalto, which is badly dilapidated and suffers from indoor air problems, is therefore closed. It must have been a beautiful church in the beginning. Hopefully it can be renovated to its former glory.

Jeremy Richard (6 years ago)
Stylish church, nice place to visit.

Valeria Azovskaya (7 years ago)
It’s worth to bike there and see the Church from the inside. Notice the opening hours, please, it has it’s own schedule.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

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Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

The Church of the Three Crosses