Kerimäki Church, with a length of 45 meters, a width of 42 meters, and a height of 37 meters, is the largest wooden church in the world. It is located in Kerimäki, Finland. Anders Fredrik Granstedt designed the Lutheran church and it was built between 1844 and 1847. Because of its length and the color of the facade, the church is also known as the ”Yellow Giant”.
Kerimäki Church belongs to the Gothic Revival and Empire style architecture. The double-cruciform church is built entirely of timber.
According to a rumor, the size of the church was the result of a miscalculation. Allegedly, the architect was using centimeters but the builders thought the measurements were in inches, which are 2.54 times larger. However further research has revealed that the church was intended to be as big as possible to accommodate half of the population of the area at the same time. The church has a seating capacity of more than 3,000, altogether, it can host 5,000 people at a time.
In 1953, a ”winter church” was built. Since the main building has no heating system, during wintertime, services take place in the smaller winter church. Because it has no heating systems, the church has never been burned down despite being timber. The bell tower next to the church is 42 meters.
Besides a few stained-glass decorations inside, the interior is kept plain and simple with details resembling white marble.
