Temppeliaukio Church

Common card · No. 312321

Temppeliaukio Church (Finnish: Temppeliaukion kirkko; Swedish: Tempelplatsens kyrka), also known as the Church of the Rock or Rock Church, is an Evangelical Lutheran church in the Töölö district of Helsinki, Finland. Designed by architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, the church was completed in 1969 and is built directly into the natural granite bedrock of Temppeliaukio (“Temple Square”). The church has approximately 750 seats and functions both as an active parish church and as a concert venue and tourist attraction. The church is notable for its integration of architecture and natural geology. Rather than constructing a conventional church on top of the rocky site, the architects excavated the main church hall into the bedrock and retained much of the surrounding rock. The interior is covered by a copper-lined dome surrounded by a broad ring of skylights, which provides natural illumination. The combination of exposed granite, copper, reinforced concrete and natural light has...

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