Iisalmen kirkkoaukio ja puistoakselit

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

The axial composition formed by Kirkkoaukio (Church Square), Kirkkopuisto and Otavan puisto is historically, symbolically and townscape-wise the most significant ensemble in the town centre of Iisalmi. The symmetrical cross-axial composition is rare in the town-plan history of Finland.

The functionalist Pyhän Ristin kirkko (formerly Uusikirkko), designed by architect Eino Pitkänen, completed in 1934 and protected by decision of the Kirkkohallitus on 1.4.2003, stands at the intersection of the sightlines formed by Otavanpuisto and Kirkkopuisto, in the middle of Kirkkoaukio, at the highest point of the town centre. From the hill, the view opens in three directions towards Porovesi. The church is visible impressively far to the south, as the terminus of the sightline. The eastern terminus of the east–west Kirkkopuisto axis is the Orthodox Pyhän Profeetta Eliaan kirkko.

Three corners of Kirkkoaukio are bounded by school buildings representing the architecture of different decades. The classicist lyceum building in the north-western corner is by architect Yrjö Sadeniemi (1932), and the building in the north-eastern corner, representing typical 1950s school design, is by architect Seppo Ruotsalainen (1957). The new Luma Centre in the south-western corner (2003, architectural office Pekka Laatio) incorporates a functionalist building originally designed as a fire station and water tower (1932) by architect Bertel Strömmer. Together with the church, this building is one of the most important elements of the Iisalmi town silhouette.

The value of the monumental square is emphasised by the landmark buildings in the blocks around it: on the east side, the parish hall (1960) designed by the architectural office Ström & Tuomisto and the cultural centre (1989) by architect Pekka Pitkänen; and on the south side, Otava school (1908) designed by architect Wivi Lönn and the functionalist Keskusta school (1939) by architect Eino Pitkänen.

Built in 1957 to terminate the eastern sightline is the dome-roofed Pyhän Profeetta Eliaan kirkko, designed by architect Ilmari Ahonen. In the vicinity of the Orthodox church, along Kirkkopuistonkatu, there are several culturally valuable buildings.

The Kirkkopuisto axis is lined with birch rows, and the north–south axis of Otavanpuisto with oak rows.

History

Iisalmi market town was founded in 1860 on the Haukiniemi headland in Iisalmi parish. The market town became a town in 1891.

Proposals for the layout of the church square were made for almost 130 years. All the proposals shared the basic principle of preserving a monumental square: in them the church stood at the intersection of park axes, and the corners of the square were built up. A symmetrical church square was already proposed in Iisalmi's first town plan draft of 1857. The first town plan was completed in 1861. In the market town plan drawn up by Alfred Sjöström in 1877, the square layout was completed with park axes.

The monumental character of the church square was emphasised in the town's first town plan (V.O. Lille), confirmed in 1912, in which the boundary of the square was accentuated by building plots placed at the corners. In Eino Pitkänen's town plan (1935), the lyceum and fire station buildings were already in place alongside the church, and building masses had been planned for all the corners of the square.

The 2001 amendment to the town plan (Pirjo Pykäläinen-Vesalainen) restored the monumental square layout, and the valuable buildings in the area were protected. In the early 2000s, the park axes and the landscape plan for the square were drawn up by the landscape architects Byman & Ruokonen Oy. The starting point of the landscape design was Pitkänen's functionalist square layout, which had already been partly realised.