<< Feature Articles >> An introduction to the Giant's Churches of Finland
Submitted by Anne T on Wednesday, 28 September 2016 Page Views: 6276
Multi-periodCountry: Finland Type: Stone Fort or DunInternal Links:
With a total of around 50 of these structures known, I now have a list of 38 of them confirmed as Giant's Churches, and a further 7 which are listed as 'possibles'. I have been slowly adding them onto the Megalithic Portal maps and site database.
A few of them, such as Kastelli, Hautakangas, Hangaskangas and Rajakangas Giant's Churches, are well known, but only in rare cases have we have been able to get photographs. Most of them we can find very little information about, apart from the sparse official records from the Cultural Environment Agency of Finland.
The documentation I have come across to date says "largely dated as Stone Age, all Giant's Church structures are recorded as having been built between 2,500 and 2,000 BC in a time when sea level was much higher, so they will have appeared as islands rising out of the water."
Whilst the reason for building these giant's churches remains enigmatic (one theory says they area either dwelling places, temples, fortresses or natural formations), it was thought most likely they were used for the hunting and storage of dead seals on the spring ice. However a comment left on the Portal's Kastelli Giant's Church site page in March 2015 states that "The hunting enclosure hypothesis is no longer considered valid by most scholars", although gives no further details.
For more information, read Ridderstad and Okkenen's paper: Orientations of the Giant's Churches in Ostrobothnia, Finland. (If you read this article, Jätinkirkko translates to 'I left the churches' which can be confusing.)
All 45 sites I have information on have now been added to the Portal. If you have any further information about these intriguing structures, please add a comment either to this article or to the individual site pages.
If you are planning to visit any of these Jätinkirkko, or have visited, we'd be delighted to hear from you!
[Update August 2017: Martti has sent through information on a couple more Giant's Churches which will be added shortly. Please note the links to the Cultural Environment Agency have been moved and no longer work, although the information remains correct, and new links will be added soon.]
View Anne's listings of Giant's Churches in Finland
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We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.