The Church of the Three Crosses, Imatra, Finland

The Church of the Three Crosses (Vuoksenniska chruch), designed by academician Alvar Aalto, is architecturally an interesting building. Its slender, high belfry describes a down shot arrow. Instead of the altar painting there are three crosses. Among the 103 windows only two are identical. Aalto planned the church also for other activities in the parish besides services. Therefore the church can be divided into three parts. In the church there are seats for 800 persons. The windows and lightning are high up, which creates fascinating display of light and shadow. The Church of the Three Crosses was completed in 1957. The stained glass on the ceiling is as old as the church and also designed by Alvar Aalto.

Address

Ruokolahdentie 27, Imatra, Finland

See all sites in Imatra

Details

Founded: 1957
Category: Religious sites in Finland
Historical period: Independency (Finland)

Rating

4.1/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

The Church Hill (5,5 km)
Border Museum (2 km)

Valtionhotelli (8,8 km)

User Reviews

Tom Hattula (2 years ago)
A nice little church designed by Alvar Aalto. You can recognize Aalto's handprint in all the small details. The church is also known as Vuoksenniska church. Fin liten kyrka ritad av Alvar Aalto, well worth a visit.

Andrea Nicoletti (3 years ago)
Opening hours to be checked in advance, the property is in need of restoration work which should begin shortly, according to the signs.

Liisa Pietilä (3 years ago)
The church designed by Alvar Aalto, which is badly dilapidated and suffers from indoor air problems, is therefore closed. It must have been a beautiful church in the beginning. Hopefully it can be renovated to its former glory.

Jeremy Richard (6 years ago)
Stylish church, nice place to visit.

Valeria Azovskaya (7 years ago)
It’s worth to bike there and see the Church from the inside. Notice the opening hours, please, it has it’s own schedule.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

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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.

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The Church of the Three Crosses