Turkansaari Museum Church

The museum church in the Turkansa Island Outdoor Museum has a unique and long history. It is the oldest wooden church building in the city of Oulu. Originally built in 1694 as a prayer room for a busy trading post, the church was demolished when trading slowed down and sold in 1814 to local fishermen for storage on Oulu's Raatinsaari. In 1922, Östen Elfving, the founder of the Turkansaari Outdoor Museum, located the prayer house in Raat, bought it and had the building dismantled and moved back to its original location on Turkansaari, along the ice.
The church was officially inaugurated in 1925, and this was the beginning of the story of the Turkansa Island Open Air Museum.

The rebuilding of the church and its interior design are inspired by similar small Lappish churches of the late 17th century, and the colour scheme of the church is inspired by the national costume of a woman from the Faroe Islands.

The Turkansaari is part of the Oulu River pilgrimage route. Read more at the link!

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