List of medieval stone churches in Finland

This is a list of medieval stone churches in Finland. A total number of 104 fieldstone churches were built between the 13th and 16th century, of which 83 have been preserved. Numbers include the sacristies of uncompleted churches as well as three churches in Vyborg which is now part of Russia.

The construction years for each church are listed in accordance with Suomen keskiajan kivikirkot ('Finnish Medieval Stone Churches') by historian Markus Hiekkanen.^[1] The book, first published in 2003, builds on the chronology first put forth in Hiekkanen's 1994 doctoral thesis "The Stone Churches of the Medieval Diocese of Turku: A Systematic Classification and Chronology."^[2] Until Hiekkanen's research, which is based in statistical interpretation of field observations using "a systematic database of comparative criteria,"^[3] most of the churches were generally considered 100–200 years older.

While Hiekkanen's dates represent those most frequently used by state museums^[4] and the Finnish Heritage Agency, his work is not universally accepted and scholars have disagreed with various elements of his research, including his methods and certain dates offered. Åsa Ringbom of Åbo Akademi University, an art historian and one of the principal researchers of the Åland Churches Project, has offered dates for the construction of the stone churches of Åland that, in some cases, differ from Hiekkanen's by a century or more. Hiekkanen has consistently dismissed the interdisciplinary methods used by Ringbom and his colleagues – which include a combined study of written sources, stylistic dating, archeological finds, dendrochronology, and mortar dating, among other modes – and, conversely, Ringbom has called into question Hiekkanen's lack of transparency regarding his methodological principals and limited incorporation of data which fall outside of his model.^[3]

The provinces in this list refer to the historical provinces of Finland, which were replaced by the regions of Finland in 1634, and differ from the former provinces of Finland, which were in use during 1634 to 2009.

Number of churches by province[edit]

Province	Churches	Sacristies	Total
Finland Proper	26	4	30
Tavastia	13	6	19
Uusimaa	14	–	14
Satakunta	09	4	13
Åland	13	–	13
Ostrobothnia	07	1	08
Karelia	04	1	05
Savonia	0–	1	01

Finland Proper[edit]

Church	Original parish	Current municipality	Built	Notes
Halikko Church	Halikko	Halikko	1460–1475	expanded 1813–1815
Kalanti Church	Kalanti	Uusikaupunki	1430–1450
Kimito Church	Kimito	Kimitoön	1460s
Kisko Sacristy	Kisko	Kisko	1510–1530
Koroinen Church	Diocese of Finland	Turku	1266–1286	foundations, destroyed 1396
Korpo Church	Korpo	Pargas	1430s–1440s
Laitila Church	Laitila	Laitila	1460–1483
Lemu Church	Lemu	Masku	1460–1480
Lieto Church	Lieto	Lieto	1470s–1480s
Marttila Sacristy	Marttila	Marttila	1500–1540	ruins
Masku Church	Masku	Masku	1490–1510
Mynämäki Church	Mynämäki	Mynämäki	1425–1440
Naantali Church	Nådendal Abbey	Naantali	1480s
Nagu Church	Nagu	Nagu	1430–1450
Nousiainen Church	Nousiainen	Nousiainen	1420s–1430s
Pargas Church	Pargas	Pargas	1440s/1450s
Perniö Church	Perniö	Salo	1460–1480
Pertteli Church	Pertteli	Salo	1500–1520
Piikkiö Sacristy	Piikkiö	Kaarina	1500–1560	demolished, no remains found
Pöytyä Sacristy	Pöytyä	Pöytyä	1500–1560	demolished 1805, no remains found
Raisio Church	Raisio	Raisio	1500–1520
Rusko Church	Rusko	Rusko	1510–1530
Rymättylä Church	Rymättylä	Naantali	1510s
Sauvo Church	Sauvo	Sauvo	1460–1472
St. Ann's Chapel	Uskela	Salo	1500–1520	demolished 1832, memorial 1953
St. Catherine's Church	Turku	Turku	1440s–1450s
St. Mary's Church	Maaria	Turku	1440s
Taivassalo Church	Taivassalo	Taivassalo	1425–1440
Turku Cathedral	Archdiocese of Turku	Turku	1400s–1410s
Turku Dominican Church	Dominican Convent in Turku	Turku	1430s	no remains found
Vehmaa Church	Vehmaa	Vehmaa	1425–1440

Karelia[edit]

Church	Original parish	Current municipality	Built	Notes
Dominican Church of Vyborg	Dominican Convent in Vyborg	Vyborg	1481	destroyed by fire 1738, rebuilt 1828-1833, destroyed by fire 1989
Franciscan Church of Vyborg	Franciscan Convent in Vyborg	Vyborg	1495–1497	demolished 1741
St. Mary's Church	Vehkalahti	Hamina	1430–1470	destroyed by fire 1821, rebuilt
Virolahti Sacristy	Virolahti	Virolahti	1500–1530
Vyborg Old Cathedral	Vyborg	Vyborg	1435–1445	ruins, destroyed 1940

Ostrobothnia[edit]

Church	Original parish	Current municipality	Built	Notes
Alatornio Church	Alatornio	Tornio	1500–1513	expanded 1794–1797
Isokyrö Old Church	Isokyrö	Isokyrö	1513–1533
Kaarlela Church	Kaarlela	Kokkola	1500–1530	expanded 1788–1789
Keminmaa Church	Kemi	Keminmaa	1520–1553
Närpes Church	Närpes	Närpes	1550–1555
Pedersöre Church	Pedersöre	Jakobstad	1510–1520	expanded 1787–1795
St. Mary's Church	Korsholm	Vaasa	1500–1520	ruins, destroyed by fire 1852
Vörå Sacristy	Vörå	Vörå	1519–1522	ruins beneath the 1626 church

Satakunta[edit]

Church	Original parish	Current municipality	Built	Notes
Church of the Holy Cross	Franciscan Convent in Rauma	Rauma	1515–1520
Huittinen Church	Huittinen	Huittinen	1500	expanded 1793 and 1860
Kokemäki Sacristy	Kokemäki	Kokemäki	1500–1540
Köyliö Sacristy	Köyliö	Köyliö	early 16th century	no remains found
Lempäälä Church	Lempäälä	Lempäälä	1502–1505	expanded 1806 and 1835–1838
Loimaa Sacristy	Loimaa	Loimaa	1500–1560	demolished 1751, no remains found
Messukylä Old Church	Messukylä	Tampere	1510–1530
Nokia Manor Chapel	Nokia Manor	Nokia	1505–1529	foundations, demolished 1760s
Sastamala Church	Karkku	Sastamala	1497–1505
St. Olaf's Church	Tyrvää	Sastamala	1506–1516	interior destroyed by fire 1997
St. Olaf's Church	Ulvila	Ulvila	1495–1510
Trinity Church	Rauma	Rauma	1495–1505	ruins, destroyed by fire 1640
Vesilahti Sacristy	Vesilahti	Vesilahti	1485–1500	demolished 1839

Savonia[edit]

Church	Image	Original parish	Current municipality	Built	Notes
Savilahti Stone Sacristy		Savilahti	Mikkeli	1520–1560	abandoned 18th century, restored 1901

Tavastia[edit]

Church	Original parish	Current municipality	Built	Notes
Akaa Sacristy	Akaa	Akaa	ca. 1510
Hauho Church	Hauho	Hämeenlinna	1500–1520
Hollola Church	Hollola	Hollola	1495–1510
Holy Cross Church	Hattula	Hattula	1472–1490
Hämeenkoski Church	Koski	Hämeenkoski	1510–1560	ruins, abandoned early 17th century
Janakkala Church	Janakkala	Janakkala	1510–1520	expanded 1840s
Kalvola Sacristy	Kalvola	Hämeenlinna	1495–1505
Lammi Church	Lammi	Hämeenlinna	1510s
Padasjoki Sacristy	Padasjoki	Padasjoki	1520–1560	demolished 1660s, present church 1670
Renko Church	Renko	Hämeenlinna	1510–1550
Somero Sacristy	Somero	Somero	1490s
St. Michael's Church	Pälkäne	Pälkäne	1495–1505	ruins, abandoned 1839
Sysmä Church	Sysma	Sysmä	1510–1520	expanded 1833–1834
Sääksmäki Church	Sääksmäki	Valkeakoski	1495–1500	destroyed by fire 1929, rebuilt 1933
Tammela Church	Tammela	Tammela	1530–1550
Tuulos Church	Tuulos	Hämeenlinna	1510–1540
Tyrväntö Sacristy	Tyrväntö	Hattula	early 16th century
Urjala Sacristy	Urjala	Urjala	1520–1540
Vanaja Church	Vanaja	Hämeenlinna	1495–1510

Uusimaa[edit]

Church	Original parish	Current municipality	Built	Notes
Espoo Cathedral	Espoo	Espoo	1485–1490	expanded 1821–1823
Ingå Church	Ingå	Ingå	1430–1520
Karis Church	Karis	Raseborg	1465–1470
Kirkkonummi Church	Kirkkonummi	Kirkkonummi	1400–1490	expanded 18th and 19th century
Lohja Church	Lohja	Lohja	1470–1490
Pernå Church	Pernå	Loviisa	1410–1442
Pohja Church	Pohja	Raseborg	1475–1480
Porvoo Cathedral	Porvoo	Porvoo	1414–1450
Pyhtää Church	Pyhtää	Pyhtää	1462
Sipoo Old Church	Sipoo	Sipoo	1450–1454
Siuntio Church	Siuntio	Siuntio	1460–1489
Tenala Church	Tenala	Raseborg	1460–1480
Church of St. Lawrence	Helsingin pitäjän kirkonkylä	Vantaa	1450s
Vihti Church	Vihti	Vihti	1500–1520	ruins, abandoned 1801

Åland[edit]

Church	Original parish	Current municipality	Built	Notes
Church of St. Olaf	Jomala	Jomala	1275–1285
Eckerö Church	Eckerö	Eckerö	1380–1420
Finström Church	Finström	Finström	1440–1470
Föglö Church	Föglö	Föglö	1500–1520	expanded 1859–1860
Geta Church	Geta	Geta	1510–1540
Hammarland Church	Hammarland	Hammarland	14th century
Kumlinge Church	Kumlinge	Kumlinge	1500–1510
Kökar Church	Franciscan Convent in Kökar	Kökar	1500–1520	abandoned late 16th century, present church 1784
Lemböte Chapel	Lemland	Lemland	1500–1530	abandoned late 16th century, renovated 1890s
Lemland Church	Lemland	Lemland	1290–1310
Saltvik Church	Saltvik	Saltvik	1350s–1370s
Sund Church	Sund	Sund	late 13th century
Vårdö Church	Vårdö	Vårdö	1520–1550

Sources[edit]

^ Hiekkanen, Markus (2007). Suomen keskiajan kivikirkot (in Finnish) (2nd ed.). Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. ISBN 9789517468619.
^ Hiekkanen, Markus (1994). The Stone Churches of the Medieval Diocese of Turku: A Systematic Classification and Chronology (Doctoral dissertation). Translated by Kokkonen, Jüri. Helsinki: Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistys [Finnish Antiquarian Society]. ISBN 9789519057118.
^ ^a ^b Ringbom, Åsa (January 2012). "A reply to Hiekkanen regarding the Medieval churches of Åland". Fornvännen. 107 (1): 50–53 – via ResearchGate.
^ Tulkki, Carita (2006). Ulvilan kirkko ja tapuli: Ulvilan kirkon ja tapulin restaurointi- ja korjaustyön arkeologinen valvonta 2004–2005 (in Finnish). Pori: Satakunnan Museo. Retrieved 5 September 2022.

External links[edit]

Media related to Medieval churches in Finland at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to Fieldstone churches in Finland at Wikimedia Commons

[Hiekkanen_2007-1] Hiekkanen, Markus (2007). Suomen keskiajan kivikirkot (in Finnish) (2nd ed.). Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. ISBN 9789517468619.

[Hiekkanen_1994-2] Hiekkanen, Markus (1994). The Stone Churches of the Medieval Diocese of Turku: A Systematic Classification and Chronology (Doctoral dissertation). Translated by Kokkonen, Jüri. Helsinki: Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistys [Finnish Antiquarian Society]. ISBN 9789519057118.

[Ringbom_2012-3] Ringbom, Åsa (January 2012). "A reply to Hiekkanen regarding the Medieval churches of Åland". Fornvännen. 107 (1): 50–53 – via ResearchGate.

[Tulkki_2006-4] Tulkki, Carita (2006). Ulvilan kirkko ja tapuli: Ulvilan kirkon ja tapulin restaurointi- ja korjaustyön arkeologinen valvonta 2004–2005 (in Finnish). Pori: Satakunnan Museo. Retrieved 5 September 2022.

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