The Finlayson Church (; ) is a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

built in

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style located in the Finlayson industrial area in the district by the same name in

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

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. It was built in 1879 as the church of the Finlayson cotton factory, for the religious use of the factory's workers. Currently the church belongs to the Evangelical-Lutheran congregations of Tampere, and it is used as a children's road church and a popular church for

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

History

The church was built for the use of the Finlayson factory workers in 1879. It was built primarily for the religious devotions of the workers, but the first working day of the year was started with a service there until the 1970s. The Finlayson factory workers founded their own congregation from 1846 to 1860. The factory had its own

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, a factory preacher, until 1982. The factory donated the church and the lot on which it stood, for free, to the Evangelist-Lutheran congregation in Tampere in 1981. A condition for the transfer was that the church must continue to be called the Finlayson Church.

Architecture

The church was designed by the city architect of Tampere at the time, Frans Ludvig Calonius. The material for the church's facade is clean red brick. It resembles an English

congregationalist church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

in that the preaching chair and the

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

are unusually located behind the altar. The church also has no kind of altar table or sculpture whatsoever. The church used to have benches stretching the full width of its hallway, but these were later separated into two parts by a corridor in the middle. The church's organ was built by the company William Hill & Son in the 1850, and they were brought to the church from

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, in 1879. The church was repaired from September 2007 to late summer 2008. The plank floor was replaced with a plate floor. The church's colour was also changed to a darker shade.

Current activity

The church is currently owned by the Evangelist-Lutheran congregation of Tampere. The church seats 280 people. The Finlayson Church is used as the only children's church in Finland. The children's altars have a Children's Bible, and next to it are installations depicting various biblical events. As the church was built as a prayer room, it does not hold a regular Sunday service. Because of its central location, small size and pleasant architecture, the church is one of the most popular wedding churches in Tampere.

Sources

Tampereen seurakunnat: Finlaysonin kirkko
Accessed on 28 May 2008.

External links

Finlayson Church
(architectural heritage registry) ''Kulttuuriympäristön rekisteriportaali''. The Finnish Museum Bureau.

by the Finlaysonin alue site
A description of the Finlayson Church
by Tampere-opas �
A description of the pipe organ and its history
(german) {{Tampere Cityscape Buildings and structures in Tampere Lutheran churches in Finland Churches completed in 1879