St. Henry's Church, Pyhtää, Finland

The first evidence of Pyhtää as an independent parish dates back to 1380. At that time already the parish had a church, but it is not known where it was situated or what it looked like. Until 1600 Pyhtää included, besides its present area, also half of the present city of Kotka, Ruotsinpyhtää, Elimäki, the western parts of Anjalankoski, and a part of Lapinjärvi.

Dedicated to St. Henry, the church is situated where one of the westernmost branches of the river Kymi meets the ancient Turku-Viipuri coast road.

The building resembles the majority of the Finnish medieval stone churches. Pyhtää church, built about 1460, has retained its original medieval appearance almost untouched. There have been few alterations: the porch was converted into a memorial choir during the latter half of the 18th century, and in connection with repairs in 1907, buttresses were built to support the north wall and the sacristy was fitted with the outer entrance.

User Reviews

es ällä (4 years ago)
Upea

Asko Poikkimäki (4 years ago)
Kaunis kivikirkko.

Kari Kangas (4 years ago)
Pyhtään Pyhän henrikin kirkko on hieno, arvokas nähtävyys. Jotta kirkkorakennuksella olisi matkailullista arvoa ja/tai kirkolla arvoa hiljentymispaikkana - mikä lienee sen tärkein tehtävä - olisi suotavaa päästä sinne sisälle. Etenkin kauempaa kirkkoa katsomaan saapuvien olisi hyvä tietää, milloin kirkko on avoinna. Pyhtään vanhalle kirkolle on ilmoitettu aukioloajat sekä seurakunnan sivuilla yhteystiedoissa (sieltä niitä ei tosin heti arvaisi hakea) että kirkon tiekirkkolistalla, ne vahvistaa myös lappu kirkon ovella: avoinna ma-su kello 10-15. Vaan eipä aina ole. Sunnuntaina 24.6. kirkko oli tiukasti suljettu jo kello 14:20. Myöhemmin sitten seurakunnasta kerrottiin, että verkkosivujen kirkollisten ilmoitusten joukossa on tieto kirkon kiinni olemisesta koko juhannusviikonlopun. Sen olisi toki voinut kertoa aukioloaikalistassakin, sieltä tiedon olisi joku voinut jopa löytää. Satunnaisia poikkeuksia lukuun ottamatta voi siis olettaa kirkon olevan auki silloin, kun se luvataan. Seurakunnasta kerrottiin myös, että maksullisen opastuksenkin voi tilata. Puolisen tuntia kestävä opastus maksaa 20 €, mitä itse pidän kohtuullisena (vaikka Espoossa tuomiokirkon vajaan tunnin opastus ei maksakaan mitään...). Seurakunnasta vastattiin nopeasti asiaa koskeneeseen sähköpostiini, mikä kasvatti arvosanaa yhdestä tähdestä peräti neljään, juuri tuon palvelun ja suuren odotusarvon vuoksi. Muokkaan sitten arvosteliua, kun joskus olen päässyt kirkkoon sisäänkin.

Ivan Bendich (4 years ago)
Люблю старые финские кирхи, ничего не могу с собой поделать. Ну вот почему любая церковь не может быть такой же лаконичной?

Михаил Мирошниченко (5 years ago)
Beautiful old church with garden.

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