Petäjävesi Old Church

The Petäjävesi Old Church is a built in 1763-1764 wooden church in the Finnish municipality Petäjävesi. In 1994 she was included in the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage.

In the architecture of the church is Renaissance elements combine with older influences of the Gothic and the formal language of the Finnish wood architecture. The wooden church was modeled after the central buildings of the Renaissance a floor plan in the shape of a Greek cross with arms of about 17 meters long and 7 meters wide. The roof of the church with its octagonal dome has Gothic elements and mimicking the brick vaults of stone churches.

Already in 1728 had the inhabitants Petäjävesi, which belonged at that time to the parish Jämsä, received permission to build a chapel to the church not to have to take the long way Jämsä up. The Church of Petäjävesi was finally built 1763-1765. As the site was chosen a small peninsula on an isthmus between the lakes and Jämsänvesi Petäjävesi. So the church was easy to get to - in the summer by boat and in winter over the ice. The builder of the wooden church was Jaakko Leppänen Klementinpoika. In 1821, the free-standing bell tower was erected on the western side under the leadership of his grandson Erkki Leppänen. 1867 new, also wooden church Petäjävesi was completed in less than a kilometer away. Twelve years later, the old church was abandoned and began to deteriorate. After the Austrian art historian Josef Strzygowski pointed to the historical value of the church began in 1929 first restoration measures. In 1994, the wooden church was taken as an example of the unique, traditional ostskandinavische Holzkirchenbautradition by UNESCO in the list of world cultural heritage. Today the church is primarily a tourist attraction in the summer worship services are held.

Roof with an octagonal dome