The Tohmajärvi Church () is the 18th-century wooden church located on the shores of

Lake Tohmajärvi Lake Tohmajärvi is a medium-sized shallow lake in the Tohmajoki main catchment area. It is located in the North Karelia region, in the very east of Finland, just outside the town of Tohmajärvi next to the border with Russia. See also *List of ...

, about southeast of Kemie, the administrative center of the Tohmajärvi municipality in

North Karelia North Karelia (or ''Northern Karelia'', ; ) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Karelia. It is the easternmost region of Finland and share ...

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, ...

. The building is the oldest wooden church in North Karelia.

History

The construction of the church started in 1751 under the direction of the architect and it was completed five years later. A separate three-jointed

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 ...

was built in 1760. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

of the church called ''The Crucified'' was 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 1783. The church's 17+2 tone

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

was manufactured by the

Kangasala is a town in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. It lies to the east of the regional capital, Tampere. The population of Kangasala is approximately , while the Tampere metropolitan area, metropolitan area has a population of approximat ...

's organ factory in 1956.

Sources

References

External links

Tohmajärvi Church
at Tohmajärven seurakunta (in Finnish)
Sights and Exhibitions
at Tohmajärvi Municipality (in English) Buildings and structures in North Karelia Churches completed in 1756 Tohmajärvi Wooden churches in Finland {{Finland-church-stub