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Roadside churches in Finland

What is a Roadside church?

Roadside churches are open churches located along your travel route – take a break at a different type of rest stop.

A white sign on the side of the road signals to travellers that there is a Roadside church nearby. Roadside churches are just regular churches that, from the beginning of June until mid-August, offer travellers a different atmosphere for a break. Some of the Roadside churches are open year-round.

No matter where you are travelling in Finland, you will come across Roadside churches, which are absolutely worth stopping to check out! They offer an opportunity to see fantastic architecture, to hear stories about the local history or to simply relax for a moment with your own thoughts.

Finland adopted the idea of keeping churches open to the public from Germany, and our country’s first Roadside churches opened in the early 1990s in Northern Finland. Since then, the idea has expanded to include all parts of Finland. The network now includes both Evangelical Lutheran churches and Orthodox churches, and new churches join the network each year.

There are approximately 270 Roadside churches open to visitors every year. The opening hours vary, so it is a good idea to check out the information for any individual church you may be looking to visit. Generally, the churches are open daily 11 a.m.–4 p.m. from 10 June until 20 August. The churches hold worship services as well as a variety of other events, from concerts to organ arias.

The locations of the Roadside churches are marked on the map found on the homepage of our website. You can also search for a Roadside church by writing a specific city or town name in the search bar at the top of the homepage. There are more than 400 churches in Finland, of which about 270 belong to the Tiekirkot.fi network. Take a break at a different type of rest stop!