18th-century wooden church in Finland undergoes €3 million renovation
A major renovation of an old wooden church built in 1792–1793 has been completed in Joroinen, Finland. The work lasted more than a year and cost around €3 million, YLE News reports. The Church Administration financed about one-third of the cost.
During the renovation, the floor structures and 17th-century boards that had been moved to the church from an earlier church were preserved. As a result, the floor remained slanted. Parish priest Anu Iltolonen noted that if a ball is placed on a table, it will not stay in one place for long.
Preserving historical materials
The renovation was supervised by the Finnish National Heritage Agency. According to the agency’s chief architect, Mikko Mannberg, renovations of churches aim to preserve as much of the original material as possible.
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New elements in historic buildings, he said, should differ from old ones and should not mislead visitors. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland has approximately 750 churches, and buildings erected before 1917 are protected. Each year, the agency issues opinions on around 100 church properties.
Multifunctional space
A space for church coffee, with tables, chairs and a children’s play area, was arranged near the entrance to the renovated church. Accessibility, barrier-free access and the functionality of the space were the main principles of the renovation.
Finnish parishes seek to turn churches into multifunctional spaces that could eventually at least partly replace other facilities. At the same time, many communities are reducing the number of other buildings, including parish houses. A time capsule was left under the church floor containing greetings from the parish priest and the head of the municipality, messages from builders, children’s drawings, a study of the building’s history, a fresh local newspaper and a Joroinen cap.
