Description
Petäjävesi Old Church was added to UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1994 as an unique example of Nordic Lutheran church architecture and log construction. The first house of worship of the area was built in 1724 without permission from the Swedish king. During 1763-65 Jaakko Klementinpoika Leppänen led the construction of the current Old Church in its place. Later in 1821 his grandson Erik Leppänen built the bell tower. The Old Church was in use until 1879 when the new bigger church was built on the other side of the bay. The graveyard was still in use in 1960’s.
