Huittisten kirkko ja sen ympäristö

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

The late medieval stone church of Huittinen, together with its surroundings, represents an impressive historic centre that grew at the crossroads of the routes of a former large parish.

The church is situated on the isthmus between two significant tributaries of the Kokemäenjoki, the Loimijoki and the Punkalaitumenjoki. A newer transept with a mansard roof, built in two parts, and a tall west tower are attached to the rectangular grey stone church. The main space of the church nave is formed by the north-south extension from the late 18th century and the 1860s; the medieval part of the church, after the restoration at the end of the 1950s, functions as its own chapel-like space.

In the atmospheric churchyard, enclosed by a stone wall with a vaulted gateway, many significant old grave monuments have survived. The cemetery, extended on several occasions, lies to the west of the church.

The Kirkonmäki cultural landscape includes, among others, the grey stone grain storehouse (Huittinen Museum), the statue of Risto Ryti, the parish's great man and president of the republic, the parsonage, the former boys' school and the Lauttakylä yhteiskoulu. The road passing the school is part of the old Satakunta trunk road, dating from the Middle Ages, which followed the Kokemäenjoki northwards.

History

Huittinen is mentioned as a church parish as early as the 1410s. The medieval main road of Satakunta ran from Turku via Huittinen to Pohjois-Satakunta.

From the medieval building history of Huittinen church, the following phases can be distinguished: a smaller stone sacristy on the site of the present sacristy, a stone nave attached to it, and a single-aisled vault supported by fluted tulipilari piers, built at the end of the 15th century. In the same work, brick decoration was added to the east gable. Its motifs correspond to the gable decoration that recurs in the Satakunta church group. The decorative niches of the east gable and the south wall contain primitive painted decoration. A new, larger sacristy was built in the church in 1738.

The church burned in 1783. The nave was enlarged in 1793-1794 by building wide additions on its south side and at the west end. The west tower also dates from this repair phase. In a repair carried out in 1860 by provincial architect G.Th. Chiewitz, the church acquired the ground plan of a cross church, as an extension of the same size as the one on the south side was built on the east side. The east-west axis of the church's functional layout changed when the altar was moved to the north transept in the renovation designed by architect Josef Stenbäck in 1897-1898. The interior of the church was altered in 1958-1959 according to the plans of architect Olli Kestilä. Efforts were made to restore the church's spaces of different ages to their appearance at the time of construction.

Kirkkopuisto, which leads from the church to the present market square, previously served as the market place of Lauttakylä. The grey granite parish storehouse next to the church was designed by C.A. Brander and completed in 1902. The museum started operating in the storehouse in 1950. The boys' elementary school was built in 1873 and the stone school in 1952; the building was extended in 1991. Lauttakylä yhteiskoulu was completed in 1926 to the drawings of architect Toivo Salervo. The new wing of the school was completed in 1954. The main building of the chaplain's parsonage dates from the latter part of the 19th century. The parish hall was completed in 1979.