Finland has many notable churches, but few impose like Kerimäki’s – the largest wooden church in the world. Built in 1847, it was designed to accommodate 5000 churchgoers.
The oversized church was no mistake, but was deliberately inflated from original plans by overexcited locals. At the time the church was built, the population of Kerimäki parish was around 12,000, and the reverend felt that half of the residents should be attending church on any given Sunday. Worshippers arrived by water, crossing the lakes in a kirkkovene (church longboat).
As stunning as the yellow-and-white church appears from outside (dominating the tiny township), the scale isn’t apparent until you survey the massive interior – the height of the nave is 27m. Heating it was impossible: the original eight stoves weren’t enough, and a smaller winter chapel was built at the rear. The main church is still used for services in summer. It’s largely unadorned apart from an altarpiece by Aleksandra Såltin.
There’s a cafe and gift shop in the separate bell tower in front of the church (proceeds go to the maintenance, an onerous burden for a small parish), and for a small donation you can climb the tower on steep wooden steps for a better view.
