Lakeuden Risti Church ( fi, Lakeuden Ristin kirkko; lit. "Cross of the Plains Church") is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

church located in

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; la, Wegelia, formerly sv, Östermyra) is a city located in South Ostrobothnia, Finland; east of Vaasa, north of Tampere, west of Jyväskylä and southwest of Oulu. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra b ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. The church was designed by

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, s ...

and built between 1957–1960. It was the first finished building of the larger administrative and civic center also planned by Aalto, consisting of Seinäjoki town hall, a library, a theater and a state office building.

Architecture

The cathedral-like building seats 1200 people in the hall and 124 in the organ gallery. In the '' Gesamtkunstwerk'' spirit Aalto also designed silverware,

antependium An ''antependium'' (from Latin ''ante-'' and ''pendēre'' "to hang before"; pl: ''antependia''), also known as a ''parament'' or ''hanging'', or, when speaking specifically of the hanging for the altar, an altar frontal (Latin: ''pallium altari ...

s, altar cloths and two stained glass paintings for the church. The cross-shaped bell tower from which the church gets its name is 65 meters high and a local landmark. A parish center by Aalto, consisting of white one-storey and two-storey buildings, was built next to the church in 1964–66. Aalto also planned the surrounding park. The

Finnish Heritage Agency The Finnish Heritage Agency ( fi, Museovirasto, sv, Museiverket), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is a ...

has listed the church as a nationally significant built heritage site as part of Aalto's administrative and civic center.

Docomomo Docomomo International (sometimes written as DoCoMoMo or simply Docomomo) is a non-profit organization whose full title is: International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites and Neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement. ...

has also selected the center as a significant example of modern architecture in Finland. The church was protected in 2003 by a degree from the

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positi ...

central administration.

Gallery

File:Lakeuden risti sisältä 6.jpg, Nave, facing altar File:Lakeuden risti architecture 20190410.jpg, Interior aspect File:Lakeuden risti altar 20190410.jpg, Altar File:006_Lakeuden_Risti_urkuparvi.JPG, Organ gallery File:Lakeuden risti 20180626.jpg, Exterior aspect File:Lakeuden risti tower 20180604.jpg, Bell tower

References

External links

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Seinäjoki Parish: Lakeuden Risti
{{Seinäjoki Cityscape Alvar Aalto buildings Alvar Aalto churches Churches completed in 1960 Modernist architecture in Finland Lutheran churches in Finland Seinäjoki 20th-century churches in Finland

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links