Brand new church art

The Weeping Women of Jerusalem by Kuutti Lavonen.

It is not common that something good comes from the bad. When an arsonist destroyed in September 1997 the roof and the interior of St. Olaf’s medieval church in Tyrvää, who would have believed that the church would be reopened twelve years later fully reconstructed and perhaps more impressive than ever. The paintings in the church are made by two artists, Kuutti Lavonen and Osmo Rauhala. Those artists have never exactly been my favourites, but in this church their work is really touching. And the famous shingle roof, carved by hand after the 1748 original design by Antti Piimänen, is so beautiful it almost takes your breath away. The amazing amount of 32 810 aspen shingles cover the roof like a black lace.
If you want to see the church this year, you have better to hurry. The church is open to the public in September only on Sundays from 11 am to 6 pm. Then it will be hibernating until the next summer.