Munsala stone church and vicarage
Munsalan kirkonmäki Uusikaarlepyy
David Ölander worked as master mason for the Munsala stone church. A well-known church builder, Thomas Rijf, was in charge of the carpentry work. A professor of the Royal Academy of Turku, Henrik Gabriel Porthan, described the new church as suitable to serve as a cathedral because of its large size as well as its beauty. The decorative pulpit was ordered from Ahlnäs.
The church yard features a stone fence built in the 1830s. North of the church hill, there is a parish granary from 1832. The graveyard houses a bell-tower built in Ostrobothnian style under the guidance of Matti Hakala.
A vicarage from the late 1700s is located near the church. In its courtyard, you can find a former farmworkers’ cottage as well as a wagon and storage building. During the Finnish War (from 1808 to 1809), the commander-in-chief of the Finnish Army, Wilhelm Klingspor, stayed in the vicarage, leaving behind a weapon chest.
Stories
Johan Freytag (1723–1779), a chaplain serving in Uusikaarlepyy and Munsala, was called “the strong priest”. The story goes that six men once tried to roll a rock away from Juuttaantie road but failed. Freytag came to the site by chance, wrapped his arm around the rock and threw it to the roadside with such force that the rock turned around three times. This rock was protected in the 1960s and is still located along the Juuttaantie road, featuring the year 1777. (http://www.nykarlebyvyer.nu/)
According to a legend, Freytag was strong enough to lift, alone and without any aids, a cottage corner for placing the cornerstone. In addition, he is said to have been able to stop a windmill from turning and to hold it still until its wings were locked. Legend also has it that Freytag was called to Stockholm to swear that his unusual powers were not based on witchcraft. The song “Balladen om den väldige prästen” has also been dedicated to "the strong priest". http://www.nykarlebyvyer.nu/
Photos
Munsala church
Munsala vicarage
The pulpit of the Munsala church
