March 25: Pielpajärven kirkko
Several kilometers later, we arrived at the clearing of the Pielpajärvi church. According to outdoors.fi, the church is one of the oldest buildings in Lapland, completed in 1760, on the site of an older church from the 17th century. Pielpajärvi was a winter village for the residents of Inari back in the day.
Right at the trail's entrance to the clearing (direct off the lake) are these buildings and this shelter.
There's the church up in back.
Closer in.
Looking in all the way down to the end.
Unusual low wooden barrel vaults.
The transept.
This ladder goes up to a balcony.
The bell tower, where I snapped this from, is connected to the sanctuary at the transept.
All kinds of light leaks were happening in the lower bell tower room.
A more subtle example.
The guest book and stairs up into the tower.
It was pretty dark up there.
Not with flash, though.
Here's the same view without flash. Little light gaps everywhere.
Posts within the tower holding up the still further-up platform.
The pulpit from one of the balconies.
We explored around the outside as well, within the fence. Here, the back gable.
A back corner.
Now just a little further on, a view back out to the clearing.
Curiously, there were these boulders out front inside the yard.
We picnicked inside this building, one of the ones by the trail entrance, building a little fire in this fireplace.
Lunchtime!
We brought hard-boiled eggs, which were a good idea.
Yeah here it is. The fire.
Then there was this nice Blockbau outhouse adjacent.
The back side of the picnic cabin.
The view back out to the lake from the clearing. I find this enchanting, somehow.