Temppeliaukio Church - Helsinki, Finland - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

"Temppeliaukio Church (Finnish: Temppeliaukion kirkko, Swedish: Tempelplatsens kyrka) is a Lutheran church in the Töölö neighborhood of Helsinki. The church was designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Built directly into solid rock, it is also known as the Church of the Rock and Rock Church.

History and architecture

Plans for the Temppeliaukio/Tempelplatsen (Temple square) was started as early as the 1930s when a plot of land was selected for the building and a competition for the design was started. The plan by J. S. Siren, the winner of the second competition to design the architecture of the church, was interrupted in its early stages when World War II began in 1939. After the war, there was another architectural competition, which was won by Timo Suomalainen and Tuomo Suomalainen in 1961. For economic reasons, the suggested plan was scaled back and the interior space of the church was reduced to about one-quarter of the original plan. Construction finally began in February 1968, and the rock-temple was completed for consecration in September 1969.

The interior was excavated and built directly out of solid rock and is bathed in natural light which enters through the skylight surrounding the center copper dome. The church is used frequently as a concert venue due to its excellent acoustics. The acoustic quality is created by the rough, virtually unworked rock surfaces. The iconic rock walls were not included in the original competition entry, even though the Suomalainen brothers had considered the idea, because they believed that it was too radical for the competition jury. But when conductor Paavo Berglund shared his knowledge of acoustics from some of the best music halls and the acoustical engineer Mauri Parjo gave requirements for the wall surfaces, the Suomalainen brothers discovered that they could fulfill all the requirements for the acoustics by leaving the rock walls exposed in the Church Hall.

The Temppeliaukio church is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city; half a million people visit it annually. The stone-hewn church is located in the heart of Helsinki. Maintaining the original character of the square is the fundamental concept behind the building. The idiosyncratic choice of form has made it a favorite with professionals and aficionados of architecture.

The church furnishings were designed by the architects. Organ builder Veikko Virtanen manufactured the church organ, which has 43 stops and 3001 pipes.

There are no bells at the church; a recording of bells composed by Taneli Kuusisto is played via loudspeakers on the exterior wall."

--Source (visit link)

Stamp Issuing Country: Finland Date of Issue: 12-31-2011 Denomination: 1.70 mk - Finnish markka Color: Multicolor (red, blue, white, gray) Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for this category, you must visit the actual site of the waymark. Post at least one photo that you personally took of the site if at all possible. If you cannot provide a photo for some reason, your visit will still be welcome.

You do NOT need to be a stamp collector to visit the waymark site, nor do you have to provide a photo of the stamp. Just having a copy of the stamp in question, however, is not sufficient; you must personally visit the site.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   09/02/2023 InGodsHands visited it 04/15/2023 lenkelj visited it 04/14/2022 Enial visited it 12/27/2021 Smurffaaja visited it 09/02/2020 seppo54 visited it 06/03/2019 Walking Boots visited it 08/29/2018 aendgraend visited it 05/17/2018 SMacB visited it 02/09/2018 alynx visited it 08/08/2016 gaussfinder visited it 03/28/2016 Jouni Jurmu visited it 07/21/2005 anneli89 visited it

View all visits/logs