New visitor centre will restore Petäjävesi church’s original use
Saturday 12th September 2026 on 09:01 in
Finland
Construction has begun on a visitor centre at Petäjävesi Old Church, a UNESCO World Heritage church, Yle reports. The centre is due to be completed by April 2027 and is expected to open to the public in early summer 2027.
The centre has been planned since the church was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. It will include an exhibition about the church and the Struve Geodetic Arc, a UNESCO World Heritage site spanning 10 countries. Finland has six protected measurement points in the chain, managed by the National Land Survey of Finland.
The exhibition will also provide general information about UNESCO World Heritage. The World Heritage Convention has been ratified by 196 countries.
Katriina Koponen, development manager at the Petäjävesi Old Church Foundation, said the project had been delayed by its complex financing. More than 10 projects have been carried out over the years to plan the centre and secure funding.
The project has received an 80 per cent grant from the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment in Central Finland, including EU co-financing. Private donations have also been collected since 2020, with the Finnish Forest Foundation as the largest donor. Construction will cost about 400,000 euros.
The centre will be accessible and open year-round, with modern toilet facilities. The church currently has a dry toilet for visitors, while brochures, souvenirs and the guestbook are kept on old mortuary tables. Guides do not have a break room.
The new facilities will allow the church to return to its original purpose. Accessibility was not considered when the church was built, and the building lacks features such as ramps to assist people with reduced mobility.
About 14,000 people visit the church each year.
The church was built in the 1760s, and its protected World Heritage setting includes the surrounding environment and landscape. Petäjävesi municipality has zoned a wind power area in the church landscape. The Hämeenlinna Administrative Court rejected appeals against the plan, but the Petäjävesi Old Church Foundation, Petäjävesi Parish and Petäjävesi-Seura have asked the Supreme Administrative Court for permission to appeal. The court has not yet ruled on the request.