Korpilahti Church

Korpilahti Church
Basic information
Geographic coordinates	62°1′0.03″N 25°33′20.91″E / 62.0166750°N 25.5558083°ECoordinates: 62°1′0.03″N 25°33′20.91″E / 62.0166750°N 25.5558083°E
Affiliation	Lutheran

Belfry

Korpilahti Church (Finn.: Korpilahden kirkko) is a Lutheran church in Jyväskylä, Central Finland; the former municipality of Korpilahti was incorporated into Greater Jyväskylä in 2008. The present structure is the third wooden church to have been built on that site.

History

Korpilahti's first church and bell tower were erected in 1693. In 1753 itinerant church-builder Arvi Junkkarinen (1716-1777) of Leppävirta began construction of a second, cruciform church, which was completed on the same site by 18th-century master carpenter Jaakko Leppänen in 1764 and 1765,^[1] Leppänen’s son, also named Jaakko (1741-1805), made a separate wooden church belfry in 1777.^[2]

Construction on yet a third church building, designed by Italian-born Charles Bassi (1772–1840), was begun by Eerik Leppänen (1776-1856) and completed by Herman Nyberg of Hauho (now Hämeenlinna) in 1826. The new church, however, was structurally weak, and in 1838 the dome was replaced, giving the church its present octagonal tower.^[2] Hämeenlinna architect Alfred Cavén designed the 1885 belfry and cupola.^[3] The next major repair project, based on architect-designer Alvar Aalto’s plans, was completed in 1928. In 1964 conservator Thorvald Lindqvist carried out renovations, and a still more recent renovation, designed by architect Matti Huusari, was completed in 1992.^[2]

The church organ was installed in 1853; previously, the nearest organ had been in Kuopio, almost 200 km to the northeast.^[4]

Notes

1. Jaakko Klementinpoika Leppänen, Biografiakeskus. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
2. Korpilahden Kirkko, Keski-Suomen Kirkot. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
3. Alfred Cavén, detailed biography (Finnish), 27 October 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-11.
4. Kirkko, Korpilahti. Retrieved 2010-12-13.