Welcome to the Church of St. Lawrence in Janakkala

The Church of St. Lawrence in Janakkala is the latest of the medieval stone churches in Tavastia Proper region. It was consecrated around the year 1500. The church's builder is considered to be Åke Tott, who was the master of Häme Castle at that time. Three coats of arms of the Tott family can still be seen on the exterior wall of the church.

According to tradition, the first church was built on this site already in the 13th century after the Crusades. The wooden church was likely located in front of the current bell tower.

Long before the construction of the first church, the surroundings of Janakkala Church have been a sacred place and a center for gatherings for people in Häme area. To the south of the church hill, a beautiful and very old cultural landscape opens up in front of the viewer.  An ancient fortress from the pagan era, was located behind the Räikälä River, on the Castle Hill Hakoinen.

Near the church hill, in the current Laurinmäki nature and museum area, lies the ancient Lauri spring, which still gushes clear water. Around this spring there was a sacrificial grove dedicated to the pagan god Taara in ancient times.

The making of magic and performing rituals at the spring continued for a long time, especially on St. Lawrence's Day, August 10th, during the markets, until the diocese prohibited the markets in the early 18th century. 

The name of Laurinlähde (Lauri's Spring) comes from the medieval patron saint of Janakkala, Saint Lawrence. The church in Janakkala is also dedicated to this saint. According to legend, Archdeacon Laurentius was burned at the stake in Rome during the persecution of Christians, when he had sold the church's valuables on the bishop's orders and distributed the money to the poor.

The reputation of Saint Lawrence, known as Lauri in Finnish, spread with Christianity, so many churches in Finland were dedicated to him. People turned to St. Lawrence for burns, fever, bewitchment, and purgatory pains, as well as in case of fire.  St. Lawrence was also the patron saint of the poor, librarians, firefighters, cooks, bakers, schoolchildren, and innkeepers.

Many traces of its past have been preserved in the artefacts of our church, e.g. some medieval sculptures of saints.  To the right of the altar, there is an oak sculpture depicting Saint Lawrence, carved from a single piece of wood. It dates back to the early 14th century and was made in Gotland.

On the right wall of the choir, there is a crucifix from the 15th century, which was restored in 2000. On the left side of the altar, there is also a 15th century sculpture depicting Saint Olav. The Saint Stephen sculpture in the back of the church, to the left of the door, comes from the same century, and was returned to our church from the National Museum in 1998.

The crucifix and the sculptures of Saint Lawrence, Saint Olav, and Saint Stephen likely existed in the previous church. The candelabra "Tree of Life" next to the Stephen sculpture was donated by the ship propeller factory Finnscrew.

The sculpture depicting James the Elder, placed in the north wing of the church, was made in the 16th century. Other old sculptures of our church are kept in the National Museum.

The church's pulpit dates back to the 1660s. Also from the same century are the noble coats of arms of the Uggla, Brunow, Stierncreutz and von Franck families, which are the grave coats of arms of the families that ruled the manors.

The church's candle crowns have been received as donations. The oldest brass crown on the central cross of the church dates back to the 18th century.

The church was originally built in a rectangular shape, and its interior ceiling was vaulted with bricks. Attached to the nave, on the left or north side of the altar, was the sacristy, and on the south and west sides, there may have been an armory.

The church experienced major changes in the middle of the 19th century, when the church's pointed sacristy was built and the church was converted into a cruciform church according to Engel and Lohrman's drawings, and its general appearance became the empire style.

The church altarpiece "Jesus on the cross" was painted by B. A. Godenhjelm in 1851.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the church was changed to an Art Nouveau style under the direction of architect Armas Lindgren.

The church was restored to its former style in 1933 according to the plan of Professor Carolus Lindberg, but the very next year, a fire damaged the organ and the interior of the church so that a new repair work was ahead.

The sacristy underwent a thorough repair in 1982.

In the years 1992–1993, the interior of the church was thoroughly renovated based on the design of architect Erkki Pitkäranta.

The choir area of the church was furnished to meet current needs, for example, the altar table was moved away from the wall so that the priest can stand behind the altar table during communion.

During the repair of the pulpit, old paintings were revealed under many layers of paint. It was decided to conserve the pulpit. According to its colors, the whole church was repainted.

Our church's fourth organ was built in 1993. The organ was built in Janakkala at Martti Porthan's organ workshop. The organ is fully mechanical, with 40 ranks, and represents North German baroque style.  Its model has been a musical instrument completed in 1660.

 The organ has almost 3000 pipes, the smallest 10 mm (0,4 inches}, and the largest more than 5 m (16 feet) long.

The bell tower, completed in 1785, is the work of the famous church builder Martti Tolpo. The earlier all-wooden bell tower was built after the middle of the 17th century. The church bells are from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The oldest textiles in our church are from the 1930s. Most of the textiles have been received as donations.

The Church of St. Lawrence is surrounded by a beautiful cemetery. As you walk through the corridors you can hear the hum of centuries of history from the 18th century. In the Middle Ages, the dead were buried under the floor of the church. This ended in Janakkala by the end of the 18th century. The iron fences or chains around the old graves are reminiscent of the times when monuments were protected from animals. In the old days, the perks of the parish clerk and the sexton could include "hay from cemeteries and grazing in cemeteries." For fences, stone plinths were built on the graves. The wooden fences gradually decayed, leaving only the iron ones. This marked the beginning of the tombstone culture. The oldest grave area in the cemetery is located around the church. It forms a historically and culturally significant museum grave area, which is protected to be preserved as it is.

 In addition to this church, the parish also has churches in Tervakoski and Turenki.

For centuries, people have gathered here in the gray stone church of St. Lawrence to hear the word of God. There is still a service here on Sundays at 10 o'clock, where we welcome you all.

Information about the many events and activities of the parish can be found on the website www.janakkalanseurakunta.fi and at the parish office located at the parish center in Turenki.

With the closing prayer of this presentation, the Janakkala parish wishes you blessings in your life and a safe journey.