Heinolan kirkkokortteli ja vanha hautausmaa

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

The church of Heinolan kaupunkiseurakunta from the early 19th century, together with the later bell tower, church park and parsonage, forms a well-preserved block of public buildings in Heinola, which was founded as an administrative centre in the 1770s. The old cemetery established when the church was built, with its grave monuments, is a significant part of the 19th-century cultural history of the town of Heinola.

The wooden church of Heinola was built under the direction of Matts Åkergren in 1807-1811. The church is octagonal in plan and covered by a high pyramidal roof. The church was restored to designs by architect Josef Stenbäck in 1925-1926. The separate log bell tower was built to plans by C.L. Engel in 1842. The park surrounding the church and bell tower was established in 1852. Associated with the church setting along Siltakatu is the parsonage designed by the architectural office Wrede & Gripenberg at the turn of the 20th century.

To the north-east of the church is the parish hall designed by architect Erkko Virkkunen, built in 1963. To the east of the church is the cantor's house, built in 1933.

The old cemetery of Heinola is also north of the church, along Siltakatu, on a pine-covered esker slope. The oldest part of the cemetery, on its southern edge, was established at the beginning of the 19th century. The cemetery has been extended several times. The 1952 Heroes' Grave Memorial was designed by Armas Tirronen, and the memorial to those who fell in 1918 for their convictions was designed by Yrjö Kaikuvuo. Beside the main gate on Siltakatu stands the steep-roofed blessing chapel designed by architect Bertel Strömmer, completed in 1955 and decorated with slate.

History

Heinolan maaseurakunta (Heinola rural parish) is mentioned as a prayer-house parish of Hollola in 1630 and as a chapel parish in 1687. On the northern shore of the Jyrängön virta, in an esker-dominated area along Suuri Savontie, the administrative seat of the governor of Kymenkartano, a residence, was established in 1776. Before the residence was founded, the area had a manor and two cavalry farms, which made it easier to acquire the land. The Heinola administrative seat, which had belonged to the rural parish, was granted town rights in 1839.

The church, which forms part of the public building stock of the residence and has classicist features, was completed in 1811 on the eastern edge of the town plan area. The Heinola town parish received its own preacher in 1812. The town parish became independent in 1917.