Kerimäki Church

Kerimäki, Finland

The Kerimäki Church is the largest wooden church in the world. Designed by Anders Fredrik Granstedt and built between 1844 and 1847, the church has a length of 45 metres (148 ft), a width of 42 m (138 ft), a height of 37 m (121 ft) and a seating capacity of more than 3,000. Altogether there can be 5,000 people at a time in the church.

It has been rumoured that the size of the church was the result of a miscalculation when it was built (supposedly the architect was working in centimetres, which the builder took to be inches, which are 2.54 times larger). Further studies, however, have shown that the church was actually intended to be as big as it is, so it could easily accommodate a half of the area's population at the same time.

During wintertime, services are held in a smaller "winter church" (built in 1953), since the main building has no heating.

Reference: Wikipedia

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Details

Founded: 1844-1847
Category: Religious sites in Finland
Historical period: Russian Grand Duchy (Finland)

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Derek Heath (8 months ago)
Incredible building built purely with wood. Impressive sight.
Markus Ihle (8 months ago)
Most impressive wooden church that I have ever seen!
bli tunke (9 months ago)
You should definitely take a break here.
Karin Klose (9 months ago)
Very interesting history, and beautiful.
Laura Räsänen (9 months ago)
A beautiful old church.
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