Pedersöre Church (, ) is a medieval stone church in
Jakobstad
Jakobstad (; , ) is a town in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Jakobstad is situated in Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Jakobstad is approximately , while the Jako ...
(Finnish: ''Pietarsaari''). It is one of the oldest medieval churches in
Ostrobothnia. The site of the first wooden church was built in the late 1200s. The church was re-built from its medieval design, and it was re-designed into a
cross-church at the end of 1700s.
History
The first church stood on the site was probably a small chapel built in stone or wood. The oldest parts of the present church originate from the 1400s. The original medieval stone church had the shape of a rectangular nave with the altar in the east and a tower in the west.
In 1787 work began on the renovation to become an equal-arm
cross-church. The work would be performed by the 33-year-old
Jacob Rijfs after drawings approved by
King Gustav III. The drawings were followed, but not exactly down to the word, thus, the 65m high spire was preserved. The model for this steeple is believed to have been the
Storkyrkan
Storkyrkan (, ), also called Stockholms domkyrka (Stockholm Cathedral) and Sankt Nikolai kyrka (Church of Saint Nicholas), is the oldest church in Stockholm. Storkyrkan lies in the centre of Stockholm in Gamla stan, between Stockholm Palace and ...
tower in
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 ...
from the 1490s. In July 1985, the spire was destroyed in a fire that also destroyed the former altarpiece and organ.
After the fire, the church was completely renovated after the architect
Erik Crow's drawings and was restored in 1986. A new 39-note organ was installed in 1988. It was made by the Danish organ building company
Marcussen & Søn
Marcussen & Søn, also known as Marcussen and previously as Marcussen & Reuter, is a Denmark, Danish firm of pipe organ builders. They were one of the first firms to go back to classical organ-building techniques, and have been producing tracker ...
, and became the fifth church organ.
The Bell Tower
The bell tower is built with a ground floor made of stone in a typical Ostrobothnian style. The upper part is built of wood. The bell tower was built under the supervision of
Thomas Rijf
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
and
Matt Honga during the years of 1769-1775.
One of the
belfry's bells are from 1488 and was probably manufactured in
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...
. In 1615, J
acob De la Gardie bought the clock from its original place in
Turku Cathedral
Turku Cathedral (, ) is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is the central church of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku and the seat of the Lutheran Archbishop of Turku, Arch ...
and donated it to the church of Pedersöre.
Gallery
File:Fattigmanskassa ved Pedersöre kyrka.JPG, The Poor Man Statue outside of Pedersöre Church
File:Jakobstad Pedersore church.jpg, Pedersöre Church in Jakobstad, Finland
File:Pedersöre bell tower 20180705.jpg, The bell tower at the church
File:Pedersöre kyrka bak träder.JPG, A partial view of the front of the church
File:Pedersöre kyrka.jpg, From the work "Finland in words and pictures" of O.M. Reuter, printed in Stockholm 1901, page 844
File:PedersöreChurch pre-1964.jpg, A picture of Pedersöre Church taken before 1965
File:Pietarsaari sh.JPG, Military cemetery at Pedersöre church in Jakobstad, Finland
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedersore Church
Medieval stone churches in Finland
Jakobstad
Buildings and structures in Ostrobothnia (administrative region)
Tourist attractions in Ostrobothnia (administrative region)
Lutheran churches in Finland
Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism