![Iisalmi-old-church-main-entrance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Iisalmi-old-church-main-entrance.jpg)
Gustav Adolf Church ( fi, Kustaa Aadolfin kirkko, sv, Gustav Adolfs kyrka), also known as Iisalmi Old Church ( fi, Iisalmen vanha kirkko, sv, Idensalmi gamla kyrka), is a wooden church in
Iisalmi
Iisalmi (; sv, Idensalmi) is a town and municipality in the region of Northern Savonia in Finland. It is located north of Kuopio and south of Kajaani. The municipality has a population of (), which makes it the second largest of the five towns ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, which was consecrated in 1780. The
Finnish Heritage Agency
The Finnish Heritage Agency ( fi, Museovirasto, sv, Museiverket), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is a ...
has classified the church as a nationally significant built
cultural environment
The social environment, social context, sociocultural context or milieu refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the culture that the individual was educate ...
.
[Iisalmen vanha kirkko](_blank)
– Finnish Heritage Agency
The Finnish Heritage Agency ( fi, Museovirasto, sv, Museiverket), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is a ...
(in Finnish) Prior to the union of municipalities and parishes in the early 1970s, the Gustav Adolf Church was the main church of the
Iisalmi rural parish, while the town parish used a
new church completed in 1934. The church was to be named after the then Swedish heir to the crown,
Gustav Adolf, and the use of the name was approved by the ruler later in the autumn.
[Kustaa Aadolfin kirkon historia](_blank)
– Iisalmen seurakunta (in Finnish)
History
![Iisalmi old church bell tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Iisalmi_old_church_bell_tower.jpg)
The Gustav Adolf Church is the third church building in the history of the parish; the first church was destroyed in a fire in 1700 and the second was demolished due to its poor condition after the present church was completed.
Drawings for the third wooden church were obtained from the Superintendent Office of
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, and the construction work started in 1778 was carried out under the direction of , a church builder and master builder from
Kalajoki
Kalajoki (; literally translated the "fish river") is a coastal town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the immediate vicinity of the Gulf of Bothnia in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region.
The town has ...
, in 1779–1780. The church was consecrated by Pastor Johan Lagus on March 5, 1780.
According to the memorial plaque of the churches attached to the
belfry, the belfry dates from 1700. According to the source, the belfry dates back to the middle of the 18th century, but the exact year of construction is unknown. In 1752, the belfry was
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...
red under the direction of master builder Anders Brovall, and painted by
Mikael Toppelius in 1756.
The church has been renovated several times. In 1876, the church was renovated in terms of interior and exterior architecture and interior design in accordance with a proposal made by architect
F. A. Sjöström, when, among other things, the
inner vault was demolished. In 1927, the church was altered and the interior was renovated according to plans of architect Rafael Blomstedt.
[Knapas, p. 45.] Since then, the changes made in the church have been minor.
See also
*
Holy Cross Church, Iisalmi
Sources
*
References
External links
Gustav Adolf Churchat Iisalmen seurakunta (in Finnish)
Buildings of Iisalmi
Churches completed in 1780
Lutheran churches in Finland
{{Finland-church-stub