Space Modern Rock

« Water seeps through cracks and drips down the walls in the Temppeliaukio. A few other photos of Temppeliaukio. »

I have never quite understood why churches are often listed as primary tourist destinations for a lot of places around the globe. I mean, sure, they're often lavishly decorated and have a great deal of history behind them, but even having visited some of the most notable churches still standing I'm of the mind that if you have seen one church, you've seen them all; altar, cross, pews, organ, stained glass, etc. It also feels slightly wrong to step into one of these churches and notice that it's still an active place of worship. Helsinki's most photographed church, Tuomiokirkko [literal translation and the translation I prefer is Doom Cathedral] can be seen from almost anywhere downtown, a rather unsettling spectre on the skyline.

But there is another church that draws busloads of tourists that I hadn't been inside of before, Temppeliaukio, a.k.a. the Stone Church. It's a church....in a rock. It looks like a lunar base straight out of Space:1999. It's the atomic modern style of the 50's colliding with the space age beehive hairdo of the early 60s: Far Out. It's an unusual place and it's interesting to look at, but if I were a tourist I think I'd rather sit in a cafe or have a picnic on Suomenlinna. I kept thinking while walking around the church of how beautiful it must be to watch it snow from the inside with the lights out and how incredibly difficult it would be to heat the space inside evenly and efficiently. From what I understand, the design of the church was met with some controversy or dispute due to its 1960s minimalist space modern design but has since found plenty of admirers. Surprisingly, the space age doesn't include web site technology for the virtual tourist so a bit about the church from the brochure might be of interest.

History: Temppeliaukio Square was named in 1906, when the city plan for Etu-Töölö was confirmed. Gradually, plans arose for building a church there and an architectural competition proved unsatisfactory, and a new one was announced in 1936. This time, the third-prize winner, drawn by Prof. J.S. Sirén, was accepted as the basic building plan. The excavation work for Sirén's cathedral-style church began in 1939 but was interrupted by the Winter War. A third architectural competition was won in 1961 by two brothers, architects Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen with an entry titled the "Stone Church". For reasons of economy, their plan had to be reduced by over 4,000 cu. meters. Construction began on the 14th of February, 1968; the work advanced quickly and the church was consecrated on the 28th of September 1969 with a final cost of 3.85 million marks [about 650,000 dollars].

Architectural details: Quarried into bedrock, the church is situated on Temppeliaukio Square, near the center of Helsinki. The basic idea of the plan was to preserve the rock formation of the square and therefore the essential construction has been built into the rock as far as possible. The outer stone wall surrounding the church is made of quarried stone, piled and bound together with steel bindings. The wall shields the church from noise and people walking on the rock above. The church is covered by a copper dome which is joined to the rock by reinforced concrete beams of various sizes, in between which there are 180 skylights. On the rock to the right of the main entrance stands a cross designed by the architects. The church has no bells. The planted areas on the rocks have been designed by garden architect Erik Sommerschield.

The floor of the church is on the street-level, so that the altar can be seen from the street through the glass doors. The parish house and the offices have been built on the side of the rock to the left of the main entrance. The church has a cubic capacity of 11,000 cu. meters and has seating space for 750 people. Its inner walls consist of bedrock and quarried stone, and their quarried surface has been left rough for acoustic and aesthetic considerations. Various kinds of coloured formations of rock add to the beauty of the walls. Their surface is brought to life by water running from cracks in the rock face which is led away through covered drains under the floor. Drill marks have not been removed from the walls in order to let the working method remain visible. The height of the walls vary between 5 to 9 meters.

The inner surface of the dome is lined with 22 kilometers of copper stripping. The diameter of the dome is 24 meters and the height from the floor to its apex is 13 meters. In the rear of the church is a balcony lined with copper panels. Above the balcony is an observation room for radio and television broadcasts and below it, a small vestry. The altar wall of the church is formed by an ice age rock crevice. During the summer months, morning sunlight falls against the altar during service. The altar table consists of a slab of smoothly sawn granite. The small crucifix portrays Christ as sufferer and victor. The asymmetrical altar railing, which can also be reached by wheelchair, can accommodate 25 partakers at one communion setting. The crucifix, candlestands and the baptismal font to the right of the altar are the work of forgeartist Kauko Moisio.

The church textiles have been designed by textile artist Tellervo Strömmer. In front of the altar and low pulpit there is space for an orchestra. The church benches are of birch. Beside the pine choir dais is located the pipe organ made by Veikko Virtanen Co. The mechanically operated organ has 43 registers, 4 manuals, a pedal and 3,001 pipes. A tunnel starting near the altar wall leads to the two-floor parish premises, built of concrete into the side of the rock. The parish hall has seating space for 130 people. There are four clubrooms downstairs. The church is connected to the municipal central heating network. The premises are ventilated by mechanical means. Heated fresh air is blown into the church through ducts situated in the front wall of the balcony.