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.

Comments

Your name



Details

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

Rating

4.1/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Argos Theater

The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.

The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.