Kerimaki

We were driving to our camping, from Savonlinna towards Punkaharju, along the road 14.
"Hey, why did you turn onto road 71"? - the wife asked...
"Let's drive into Kerimaki" - I answered...

Probably, my story about the region of Finland "South Savo" (Etelä-Savo) would be incomplete, if not to say about the small town of Kerimaki, which was founded in 1642.
The town is located 23 km from Savonlinna and about 6000 people live in it.
And about 50,000 tourists come here every summer to see the world's largest wooden church.

We entered into the city and parked the car in the center, not far from the huge church...

Near the parking - a small area with outdoor stands about the history of the city and the church.
There is a memorial stone here - in fact the town celebrated 370 years in 2012.

And behind the trees, on the hill, you see the largest wooden church in the world!
We go there...

The construction of the church lasted three years (1844-1847) and was completed on September 25, 1847.
It is Lutheran Christian church, church services and various events are held here in our days.

It is built in neoclassical style, the inner hall has two floors.
The belfry was built at the same time as the church, but stands separately on the stonework.

Its height is 42 meters.

The inner hall of the church is huge:
45 meters in length, 42 meters in width and 27 meters in height.
The height of the outer dome is 37 meters.
In the church there are 3400 seats, but with standing places the church can accommodate 5,000 people.

The interior of the hall is made in a simple style, but the chandeliers and altar are very beautiful...

The church organ is located above the front door of the church, it was installed in 1894...

But such a large size of the hall has its drawbacks.
The hall is not heated, therefore the church works only in the summer...
But in the winter, early in the morning on Christmas day, the church service is held here and people breathe and warm the cold hall.

In the summer, not only church services are held in the church, but also various activities: weddings, concerts and festivals.
The church also participates in the annual opera festival "Savonlinna".

In the cold season, church services are held in a small winter church, which was attached to the main church in 1953.

We went around the church and the winter church and went back to the bell tower...
Near the bell tower we said goodbye to the largest wooden church on Earth and the small town of Kerimaki...

Our 5-day vacation on Saimaa, next the lakes, in the beautiful country of Finland has come to an end.
Our rest was short but very interesting and informative and we hope to continue it someday...