About this site
Stone church, medieval. Vanaja's medieval stone church with its bell tower, the burial chapels in the churchyard, and the cemetery form an island telling of the historical past around Hämeenlinna Castle area, squeezed between industrial areas, the railway, and main roads. In the church, built from exceptionally large smooth-surfaced stones, are the corner stones typical of Häme churches. The brick decoration in the western gable consists of an arch frieze, stepped triangles adjoining it, a cross, and circular niches. In the gable there is an exceptionally well-preserved external sacrament pulpit of brick. The cross-shaped brick ornamentation in the eastern gable is adjoined by two limestone coats of arms, one of which has been confirmed as having belonged to the Tott family. The single-nave three-bay church hall is covered by star vaults with ring decoration. The late-medieval altarpiece in Central European style depicting the Stations of the Cross, belonging to the medieval furnishings, ranks among the finest in Finland. The door panel of the southern portal between the weapon house and the church hall is medieval. The hero grave area on the new cemetery opposite the church was implemented according to the drawings of architect Einari Teräsvirta.
Official description (Museovirasto) — machine-translated from Finnish
- Municipality
- Hämeenlinna