Pedersöre church

1.-  Pedersöre church in Pietarsaari (Finland)

2.- It is one of the  oldest  medieval churches in Ostrobothnia surrounded by a beautiful white snow scenery.

3.- The present stone church was built between 1510-1520 but it was modified to cross shape in 1787-1795 by famous church builder Jakob Rijf. Pedersöre Church was damaged badly by fire in 1986. It was supposed to be an arson, but any suspects were never found. It dates back to 13th century. During its history, the look of the church has varied a lot. The first small building was probably a small chapel built of stone or perhaps wood.  

4.- Above the main entrance we see the inscription 1250. This date is based on historical writings which are rather late and unverifiable.
The church was severely damaged during the Great Northern War in the beginning of the 18th century. As the population in the area grew the church became too small and crowded. After much consideration and careful planning, renovation into a cruciform church was begun in 1787. 

5.- The church itself also was used as a graveyard. The low buildings on both sides of the bell tower were erected in 1803.They served as "winter graves" or temporary graves during the winter time when the ground was frozen.  It was a place for depositing fragments of earlier buried people. Over the centuries the graveyard has been reused several times.

 6.- It looks like these type of Northern European churches. It looks humble from the outside but surely very warm in the inside. I like these types of churches with a high steeple.

 7.- It gave me peace and solace. The day I visited it was snowing and I was eager to lie on the snow and play like a kid. 

Núria Gonzalo