Fall Colors at the Church of Hollola

Hollola is a small village situated just to the west of Lahti and stretches partly around the Vesijärvi. On Sunday we took a short trip through Hollola and I got to see what things look like there.

 The fall colors looked so beautiful as we drove around. The main reason for going to Hollola was to see a church from the middle ages, so we stopped and parked the car across the street and by this lovely area. The red building in the background actually has a traditional Finnish long roof, kind of like one that you could imagine on an old Norwegian building too.

 When you first pull up to the church you think, "What? Russian Orthodox? That doesn't seem like the middle ages," but really that part isn't from the middle ages. It was added in 1829 by Nicolai the 2nd of Russia and stands in front of the great Church of Hollola.

 As soon as you walk through the yellow, orthodox styled bell tower, you come into a beautifully groomed cemetary and then see the actual church from across the yard. I think we were there at the best time, because the autumn colors made everything look so nice and there was just a certain mood in the air as well.

 Sorry the writing above is a bit hard to read, there were still some raindrops left on it. The Church of Hollola was built in the 1480's and is still preserved magnificantly, holding tours and on Sunday, actual church ceremonies too. Just like the medieval church in Sastamala that I saw when I was in Karkku last month, this church is also situated on higher ground so that it could be spotted easily since most patrons came by boat.

 Just seeing a church or any building with as much history as this one is amazing. It's amazing that it was been preserved so well after over 500 years of continual use.

 As you can see, the walls were pretty thick and there was a big heavy wooden door with some different nordic designs on it. When you first walk into the church, you come into a room where back in the middle ages, everyone was to leave their weapons (swords, bows, etc.), then you enter the actual church.

 Obviously there weren't any aisles or lights, but for the most part the origionally figures are still in place. The building itself is actually really good size, because the view from here is only half of the church and it also goes back much further too.

 The grey square on the wall is the color of the walls a few years ago. They did a huge cleaning not too many years ago to clean the 500 years of grime away. The grey color was from all of the smoke from having to burn candles and such before electricity, so things were pretty dirty.

 There was one grave up front near the piano, so that was a bit strange, but then something else happened. The lady who worked there pulled up a rug and while I expected a staircase leading downstairs somewhere, she actually uncovered another grave, this one much older. The grave was for a twenty-four year old mother of four who was married to the priest and died in 1691. No one knows why she was buried there or how she died, perhaps she was married in that spot and that is why it is her final resting place. Either way, it's a little bit frightening to be stepping on a grave, especially is you think it's just a rug there and nothing else.

 Here are some of the wood works that are origional to the church. One of the wooden figures from a different pillar was stolen in the 80's, but later recovered when it was scene in a magazine. Apparently someone had bought the stolen property and placed it in their home which was being photographed for a home magazine. Talk about a lucky recovery, now that's a miracle.

 Here is the some of the religious artwork at the front of the church. There was also a very old stone alter, but unfortunately you can see it here. Very nice stainglass windows and everything though.

 Here's another view of the church. I really enjoyed walking around inside of it and hope to one day be able to attend an actual ceremony there. It's a bit weird with the pillars down the middle, because the aisles are restricted, but otherwise it is very nice.

 Good bye Church of Hollola, hopefully we will meet again. And to everyone buried there, rest in peace.
In Finnish, Kirkko means church. My school is on Kirkkokatu - church street.