Kerimaki Church

The church at Kerimaki was completed in 1847 and is generally described as the largest wooden church in the world: a cruciform building with a dome, galleries on two levels and seating for around three thousand people, in a parish that never came close to needing it. The often-repeated explanation, that the plans were misread and the dimensions built in feet as metres, is a good story and almost certainly not true; the parish appears to have wanted a very large church and got one. The interior is pale, plain and enormous, lit by two tiers of windows. It is unheated, so it is used in summer and a smaller winter church stands beside it.

History

The church was designed by Anders Fredrik Granstedt and built between 1844 and 1847, 45 metres long, 42 metres wide and 37 metres high, with seats for more than 3,000 people and room for 5,000 in all, making it the largest wooden church in the world, though not the tallest. A story that its size came from a builder misreading the units of the plans has been disproved: the church was meant to be this big, to hold half the parish at once. Because the main building has no heating, winter services are held in a smaller winter church built in 1953 and remodelled in 1997 (Wikipedia, Kerimäki Church).

The main sights

• A wooden church seating three thousand - built for a parish that never filled it.
• Two tiers of galleries - the interior arrangement under the dome.
• Pale unpainted timber - the plain interior at full height.
• The winter church beside it - the heated building used out of season.

When to go

June to August, when the church is open and in use; it is unheated and shut for most of the rest of the year. One hour. Services take precedence.

What to expect

It is closed for much of the year because it cannot be heated. The interior is plain and the visit is short. The story about a measuring error is repeated everywhere and is not supported. The village has little else.

Nearby

Savonlinna is west; Punkaharju lies south.

Key facts