An unique project promoting wooden buildings is underway in the town of Kärsämäki – the geographic centre of Finland.
A wooden church is being built by hand, strictly in accordance with traditional 18th century methods.
The project is being sponsored by UPM-Kymmene Wood Products Industry and all the trees have been felled by hand, brought from the forest by horses and sawn into logs with a cross-cut saw.
The architecturally modern timber frame church is being enveloped in a shingle cladding that required 52,000 split aspen wood shingles. The aspen logs were supplied by UPM-Kymmene Forest.
The church is due to be completed in summer 2004.
