The Old Church at Petäjävesi - Our common heritage

The Old Church at Petäjävesi was marked as a UNESCO world heritage landmark in 1994 as an excellent example of a Lutheran country church built of logs as a typical example of an architectural tradition unique to eastern Scandinavia.

The church was built from 1763 until 1765 under the instruction of master builder Jaakko Klemetinpoika Leppänen. Leppänen had taken example of European church architecture and was able to plan a church based on these designs using logs. The bell tower was built by Erkki Jaakonpoika Leppänen, the grandson of the original master builder, in 1821.

The church was no longer used after 1879 when a new church was constructed. Nowadays the Old Church at Petäjävesi is used for worship on summer Sundays and is one of the Finland's most well loved churches for weddings.