Phone +358 15 5789123 | Architect Anders Fredrik Granstedt | |
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Architectural styles Gothic Revival architecture, Byzantine architecture Similar Savonlinna Cathedral, Olavinlinna, Heinävesi Church, Petäjävesi Old Church, Helsinki Old Church | ||
Sound of kerim ki church bells midsummer 2016
The Kerimäki Church in Kerimäki, Finland, is the largest wooden church in the world.
Contents
History
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 misunderstood 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 1935), since the main building has no heating. New "Winter church" has been built to there asa same as the older year 1953