Mary's Church of Lappee

Lappeenranta, Finland

Lappee church is a wooden so called double cruciform church situated in the centre of the city. The church was built in 1794 by Juhana Salonen, a church builder from Savitaipale. During the years the building has gone through many renovation and modification works.

Aleksandra Frosterus-Såltin has painted the altarpiece, which represents the Ascension of the Christ, in 1887. The other paintings are made by unknown artists. The existing organs are from the year 1967. The church serves travellers as a road church.

South of the church stretches the graveyard, with an evocative war memorial, which features cubist and modernist sculptures commemorating Finns who died in the Winter and Continuation Wars. The most striking depicts a mother mourning her soldier son lost in battle, by Kauko Räsänen.

Address

Valtakatu 35 / Kirkkokatu 11, Lappeenranta, Finland

See all sites in Lappeenranta

Details

Founded: 1792-1794
Category: Religious sites in Finland
Historical period: The Age of Enlightenment (Finland)

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Virgin Mary Church (0,8 km)
South Karelia Art Museum (0,8 km)
Cavalry Museum (0,7 km)
Lappeenranta Fortress (0,9 km)
Virstantolppa (0,5 km)
Lappeenranta Church (0,5 km)
Karelia Aviation Museum (3,2 km)

Trongzund Fort (51,3 km)
The Salpa Line Museum (50,6 km)
Kärnäkoski Fortress (34,2 km)
Lemi Church (20,4 km)

User Reviews

Nishanthi “nish” Kariyawasam (2 months ago)
St. Mary's Church of Lappee is a peaceful oasis in the city. The kind and welcoming father adds warmth, and its calm, silent atmosphere makes it a perfect place for reflection and spiritual connection amidst urban life.

Alex L (5 years ago)
We went for 2 days by car, took a hotel for one night in the city center, a day cost us 110 euros. I really liked the town. As always, the cleanliness and order of the Finns are impressive. Weekends are enough to walk around and enjoy all the local views. There is a large hypermarket where everything is in stock and you can get a tax refund when leaving back to Russia. For the same period, you can go to Imatra, the hotel costs about the same, which we did on the other weekend. I recommend the premises of this city.

Harri Viskari (6 years ago)
Beautiful old wooden "double cross" church.

Soheil (6 years ago)
Heart of the city, always a nice atmosphere, quite many cafés, bars and shopping centers are also around.

Markus Müller (6 years ago)
Old former Orthodox Church

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.