Aalto started working on the plans for this church in 1955 as an offshoot of the master plan of Imatra completed in 1953. Construction of the church was completed in 1958. Without any doubt Aalto’s most original church design, Vuoksenniska Church – in conformity with his fundamental approach to architecture as a synthesis of varied practical and aesthetic needs – fuses a broad range of motifs into a unique, coherent work of artistic perfection.

The division of the interior into three units gave Aalto the occasion to raise the number three into a more widely applicable, theologically justified motif: “The bell tower is dominated by the number three: its top section is tripartite, and widens upward. With this form the architect wished to create an architectural image that contrasts as strongly as possible with the factory chimneys which dominate the surroundings. The triad recurs inside in the vault which covers the three halls. The motif converges at the altar in three unpretentious crosses.”

The church has five entrances to ensure undisturbed separate use of the three sections, and hall A can also be used as a funeral chapel with a ceremonial exit straight to the graveyard in a beautiful pine forest setting. The church facade is of brick and concrete, rendered white; the roofing, which hangs down low on the east side, is copper sheet.

Church of the Three Crosses is listed on the DOCOMOMO Finland registered selection of important architectural and environmental modernist sites.

More information on Alvar Aalto Foundation website.

Location

Ruokolahdentie 27, Imatra
61.2366842, 28.8562056

Images

Church of the Three Crosses
Church of the Three Crosses (© Pertti Ingervo / Alvar Aalto Foundation)
Church of the Three Crosses
Church of the Three Crosses (© Heikki Havas / Alvar Aalto Foundation)
The church hall, Church of the Three Crosses
The church hall, Church of the Three Crosses (© Pertti Ingervo / Alvar Aalto Foundation)
Ceiling detail, Church of the Three Crosses
Ceiling detail, Church of the Three Crosses (© Heikki Havas / Alvar Aalto Foundation)
Sketch drawing, Church of the Three Crosses
Sketch drawing, Church of the Three Crosses (© Alvar Aalto Foundation)
Ground plan, Church of the Three Crosses
Ground plan, Church of the Three Crosses (© Alvar Aalto Foundation)
Section, Church of the Three Crosses
Section, Church of the Three Crosses (© Alvar Aalto Foundation)
Scale model, Church of the Three Crosses
Scale model, Church of the Three Crosses (© Eva and Pertti Ingervo / Alvar Aalto Foundation)

More projects by author

Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Koskikeskus Landscape and Urban Plan

  • Oulu
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Aalto Pavilion

  • Venice
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Alajärvi Youth Association Building

  • Alajärvi
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Detmerode Church and Parish Centre

  • Wolfsburg
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Church of the Cross

  • Lahti
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

The Seinäjoki Defence Corps Building

  • Seinäjoki
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Riola Church and Parish Centre

  • Riola
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

The Jyväskylä Defence Corps Building

  • Jyväskylä
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Nuora Building (alterations)

  • Jyväskylä
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Villa Karpio

  • Jyväskylä
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

National Pensions Institute Housing

  • Helsinki
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Villa Skeppet

  • Tammisaari
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Standard Apartment House

  • Turku
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Casa Lauren

  • Jyväskylä
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Kantola House

  • Kotka
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Schönbühl Apartment House and Commercial Centre

  • Lucerne, Switzerland
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Rautatalo Office Building (Iron House)

  • Helsinki
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Paimio Sanatorium

  • Paimio
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Studio Aalto

  • Helsinki
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Aalto-Hochhaus

  • Bremen
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Finlandia Hall

  • Helsinki
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Villa Mairea

  • Noormarkku
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Säynätsalo Town Hall

  • Jyväskylä
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Alvar Aalto Museum

  • Jyväskylä
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Aalto University Harald Herlin Learning Centre

  • Espoo
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

National Pensions Institute

  • Helsinki
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Aalto University Undergraduate Centre

  • Espoo
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Viipuri Library

  • Vyborg
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Muurame Church

  • Muurame
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Jyväskylä Workers’ Club

  • Jyväskylä
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Cross of the Plains Church (Lakeuden risti)

  • Seinäjoki
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

University of Jyväskylä, the Aalto’s Campus

  • Jyväskylä
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Muuratsalo Experimental House

  • Jyväskylä
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Sunila Pulp Mill and Residential Area

  • Kotka
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Hansaviertel Apartment House

  • Berlin
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Aira Apartment Building for Railway Workers

  • Jyväskylä
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Aalto University Student Dormitory

  • Espoo
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Maison Louis Carré

  • Bazoches-sur-Guyonne
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Villa Kokkonen

  • Järvenpää
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

The Aalto House

  • Helsinki
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Villa Tammekann

  • Tartu, Estonia
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Viitatorni

  • Jyväskylä
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Terraced House

  • Eura
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

House of Culture

  • Helsinki

Nearby projects

Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Imatra Cultural Centre

  • 6.5 km
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

The State Hotel

  • 8.8 km
Empty placeholder image
Bookmark

Simpele Church

  • 14.8 km