Block-pillar church
The block-pillar church (Finnish: tukipilarikirkko; Swedish: blockpelarkyrka) was a common type of wooden church in Ostrobothnia in the 17th century. Individual specimens are also found elsewhere in Finland and in northern Sweden.
Construction[edit]
The basic form of a block pillar church is a nave church, where the walls are made of horizontal logs and the joints between the logs are placed inside a timber pillar. The pillars are square timbered cavities as high as the walls with interlocking joints and are visible from both outside and inside the church. The pillars support a long timber wall so it doesn't start to buckle due to pressure from the roof. Inside the church, the walls are supported by tie beams between the parallel walls.[1] Most commonly two pairs of block pillars were used, but the largest block-pillar church is Tornio Church, which has three pairs of pillars. In the west gable, the churches often have a timbered tower with a high spire. Most often the tower had no church bells, and a bell tower was built separately. Block-pillar churches appear to have been an Ostrobothnian specialty.[2]
Preserved churches[edit]
Around a hundred block-pillar churches were built, twelve of which have been preserved. The oldest preserved is Vörå church from 1627, which was expanded into a cruciform church in 1777.[2]
| Place | Church | Built | Notes | Picture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alastaro, Loimaa | Alastaro Church | 1754 | moved from Loimaa in 1841 | 
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| Jukkasjärvi, Kiruna | Jukkasjärvi Church | 1726 | 
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| Kempele | Kempele Old Church | 1688–1691 | 
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| Kristinestad | Ulrika Eleonora Church, Kristinestad | 1700 | 
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| Muhos | Muhos Church | 1634 | 
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| Sodankylä | Sodankylä Old Church | 1689 | 
| |
| Temmes, Tyrnävä | Temmes Church | 1767 | 
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| Tervola | Tervola Old Church | 1687–89 | 
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| Tornio | Tornio Church | 1684–86 | 
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| Ullava, Kokkola | Ullava Church | 1783 | 
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| Utajärvi | Utajärvi Church | 1762 | 
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| Vörå | Vörå Church | 1626–27 | expanded to cruciform church in 1777 | 
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References[edit]
- ^ Pettersson, Lars (1985). "IV Kring stenkyrkorna och stensakristian i Vörå samt blockpelarkyrkornas framträdande i Österbotten" [About the stone churches and the stone sacristy in Vörå and the emergence of block-pillar churches in Ostrobothnia]. Svenska Österbottens historia 5 (in Swedish). Svenska Österbottens landskapsförbund. pp. 59–63, 67. ISBN 9519961186. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
- ^ a b Knapas, Marja Terttu (2018). "Blockpelarkyrkan en finländsk specialitet" [The block-pillar church is a Finnish speciality]. Kulttuuriymparistomme.fi (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
External links[edit]
Media related to Block pillar churches at Wikimedia Commons