Kerimäki Church


The Kerimäki Church in Kerimäki, Finland, is sometimes cited as the biggest wooden church in the world. However, St. George's Cathedral, Georgetown located in Guyana is taller, at 43.5 metres. The Almaty Cathedral, at 56 meters, is even taller.

History

Designed by :fi:Anders Fredrik Granstedt|Anders Fredrik Granstedt and built between 1844 and 1847, the church has a length of, a width of, a height of and a seating capacity of more than 3,000. Altogether, there can be 5,000 people at a time in the church.
It has been rumoured that the size of the church was the result of a miscalculation when it was built. Further studies, however, have shown that the church was actually intended to be as big as it is, so it could easily accommodate a half of the area's population at the same time.
During wintertime, services are held in a smaller "winter church", since the main building has no heating.