Kymin kirkko

English translation (from the Finnish)

The text above is the record as published by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), in Finnish. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto); it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Kymi stone church belongs to the group of stone-built Empire-style cross churches designed by the Intendentinkonttori in the mid-19th century.

Kymi church stands on the east bank of the Korkeakoski branch of the Kymijoki, on a high rocky hill covered with pines and spruces. The brick church, whitewashed and with internal splays, has a tall timber-built west tower. The walls of the nave are strong yellow. Above the window openings with internal splays are reliefs made by Aarre Aaltonen for the church's centenary in 1951, depicting the Sermon on the Mount, the Good Shepherd, Holy Night and Suffer the Little Children to Come unto Me. The altarpiece depicting Gethsemane was painted by Berndt Godenhjelm in 1865. The large glass candlesticks on the altar are a gift from the workers of the Karhula glass factory. The 43-stop organ was built in 1991 by the Danish organ builders Bruno Christensen & Sonner. The church bells are bells purchased in 1736 for the Forsby ironworks church in Pernaja.

On the church hill stands a two-storey white-rendered parish hall dating from the late 1920s. Below the church is the old cemetery, established in 1729, bounded by a steep rock face, with its valuable grave monuments. Beside the cemetery are the war heroes' graves from the recent wars. The extensive park around the church, maintained in a natural state, extends eastwards as the cemetery.

History

Originally part of Pyhtää, the Kymenkartano chapel parish was established around 1440. Kymi church parish was formed in 1642. The parish's first three churches were located near Kymenkartano. The parish's third church building was completed on the present old cemetery in 1729 and burned down in 1837. The wooden church that preceded the present church burned immediately after its completion in 1843, and a new church was ordered to be built in stone. Built to a drawing prepared at the Suomen Intendentinkonttori, the parish's fifth church was consecrated for use at Midsummer 1851.

The parish hall was completed in 1929 to a design by architect Ilmari Launis. An architectural competition for the design of the war heroes' grave area was held in 1943, and the design by architect Hilding Ekelund was carried out in 1945.