Gustav Adolf Church (, ), also known as Iisalmi Old Church (, ), is a wooden church in

Iisalmi Iisalmi (; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality in the regions of Finland, region of Northern Savonia in Finland. It is located north of Kuopio and south of Kajaani. The municipality has a population of (), ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, which was consecrated in 1780. The

Finnish Heritage Agency The Finnish Heritage Agency (, ), 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 cultural and research institutio ...

has classified the church as a nationally significant built cultural environment.Iisalmen vanha kirkko
–

(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
– Iisalmen seurakunta (in Finnish)

History

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, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, 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 ...

, 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 /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

, 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 b ...

red under the direction of master builder Anders Brovall, and painted by

Mikael Toppelius Mikael Toppelius (10 August 1734, Oulu – 27 December 1821, Oulu) was a Finnish church painter; the last significant representative of the Ostrobothnia (historical province), Ostrobothnian church painting tradition. His grandson was the well-kn ...

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 F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distribution, a conti ...

, 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.

Sources

References

External links

Gustav Adolf Church
at Iisalmen seurakunta (in Finnish) {{coord, 63, 34, 48, N, 027, 10, 18, E, region:FI-15_type:landmark, display=title Buildings of Iisalmi Churches completed in 1780 Lutheran churches in Finland

History

See also

Sources

References

External links