St. Henry's Chapel, Kokemäki, Finland

The St. Henry's Chapel is a medieval wooden barn, which was surrounded by the present brick chapel in 1857. According the legend St. Henry, the first bishop of Finland, spent his last night in the barn before local peasant Lalli murdered him in 1156. Although according modern archeological investigations oldest parts of the barn were made in 1472-1473. Oldest records from the 17th century tells that the barn has been a destination for local pilgrimages.

Senate of Finland decided to protect the barn as the national heritage in 1839. Architect Pehr Johan Gylich designed the chapel around barn to shelter it. The chapel was inaugurated in 1857.

The chapel is open to the public in July with no admission fee.

User Reviews

mikko kettukangas (17 months ago)
In a beautiful park at the ancient market place of Teljä stands a small round brick chapel, which preserves the oldest surviving log building in our country. From this Kokemäki collision, our good pious Henrik left for his last journey.

Juha Lehtinen (18 months ago)
Mukavalla paikalla, kaunis, löytyy helposti, esteetön kulku, selkeä, siisti. Suosittelen poikkeamaan jos seudulla liikkuu

Päivi Mäkinen (4 years ago)
A special, historical attraction on the banks of the Kokemäenjoki River in a great location! In order to see the log building, you must pick up the chapel key from Kokemäki City Office.

Kari Mäkilä (5 years ago)
Bishop Henrik spent the night here before he died. It would be nice to get some guidance and take a look inside. You should probably make an appointment in advance.

S0fi (5 years ago)
Ok

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright mixteri

Historic Site of the week

Bengtskär Lighthouse

Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.

German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.

After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.

St. Henry's Chapel

Address

Details

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Bengtskär Lighthouse