Jämsä church today
It was decided to build the new church exactly where the old one had stood before the fire. The material should be something fire-resistant; the final choice was left up to the architect. The bell tower that survived the fire became the starting point of the design. The architect was told to design something with good acoustics, a simple exterior, an impressive interior and an elevated chancel. The architect competition
The architects Armas Lindgren, Kauno S. Kallio and Eliel Saarinen were invited to take part in the architect competition. The architect Alvar Aalto entered the competition as a replacement for Saarinen. In addition to the Board of Church Building, the suggestions of Lindgren, Aalto and Kallio were evaluated by Professor of the University of Technology, architect Carolus Lindberg and architect K. N. Borg. What would Jämsä church look like if it had been designed by Alvar Aalto? Take a look on these pages. The present Jämsä church, made of rendered brick, was finished in 1929. It was designed by Kauno S. Kallio and artist Urho Lehtinen was in charge of the artistic look of the interior. Originally the church only had an organ gallery. The transept galleries were built during the modification work done in 1995 - 96.