The Church of Tornio

The Church of Tornio was the southernmost end of the chain of survey triangulations. The measurements were taken in the bell tower of the church, with a good view of Kaakamavaara Hill and Huitaperi Hill.

The Church of Tornio, also known as the Hedvig Eleonora Church, was built in 1686. It is named after Queen Hedvig Eleonora of Sweden (1636–1715). There is also a church of the same name in Stockholm.

Opposite the church, on the other side of Seminaarinkatu road, is the Maupertuis Park, where there is a memorial to the degree-measuring expedition.

The bell tower of Tornio church was the last place where the expedition took angular measurements. They found it difficult to get any peace when there were so many curious people around, including Anders Celsius’ students from Uppsala University, Jonas Meldercreutz and Johan Cederström. They travelled to north that summer, stopping off occasionally to follow up on the work of the expedition.

On Sunday, September 2, 1736, after church, Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, Réginald Outhier and Celsius created a diversion. Celsius crept up to the bell tower, and Maupertuis and Outhier pretended to be going for a walk. Once alone, they hurried to the tower, to where the quadrant – the instrument used to measure angles – had been taken earlier.

The measurements could finally be taken in peace. After these measurements, only the angle between Iso-Horila Hill (Horilankero) and Niemivaara Hill, measured from Kaakamavaara Hill, was missing.

The Church of Tornio was built by Matti Joosefinpoika Härmä from Liminka. It is a three-paired block-pillar church. The church is richly decorated in Baroque style.

At the time of the excursion, the church was surrounded by a stone fence covered with planks. The structure of the fence is clearly shown in a drawing by Outhier. The drawing is the oldest known accurate picture of the Church of Tornio.

The paintings on the vaulted ceiling were done immediately after the church was completed in 1687–88. They were painted by Lauri (Lars) Gallenius (circa 1658–1753), the official painter of the city of Oulu.

The pulpit dates from 1701. It was carved by the Swedish carpenter Nils Jacobsson Fluur (1665–) and painted by the painter Didrik (Diedrich) Möllerum (1642–ca. 1702). Möllerum was most probably from Denmark. In addition to the pulpit, he painted an old altarpiece, also from 1701. At the time of the expedition it was still on the altar, nowadays it hangs above the door of the armoury.

The present altarpiece from 1754 was painted by Johan Ollongren.

In the 1730s, a path led to the church from the western shore of Suensaari Island, where the population in the area had mostly settled. The services were held in Swedish. The Finnish-speaking people gathered at the Church of Alatornio on the east side of the river in Pirkkiö.

Several wealthy residents of Tornio have been buried under the floor of the church. The bodies are well preserved and many of them have mummified. The wealthiest burgher in Tornio during the Maupertuis period, Mayor Petter Johan Pipping (1694–1766), is known to have been buried under the church floor. Burials in the church were stopped at the beginning of the 19th century.

Sources:

Outhier, Réginald. Matka Pohjan perille. Maupertuis Foundation and Väyläkirjat, 2011 (orig. 1744).

Pekonen, Osmo. La rencontre des religions autour du voyage de l’abbé Réginald Outhier en Suède en 1736–1737. Lapin yliopistokustannus, Rovaniemi, 2010.

Tornio parish: https://www.tornionseurakunta.fi/kirkot-ja-tilat/kirkot/tornion-kirkko/tornion-kirkon-historiaa


A map

Guidelines for using the map
  • Red = Measurement point of the triangulation chain.
  • Green = Walking route.
  • Markers: Tap or click to get more information about the destinations.
  • Zoom out: Shows the location in the triangulation chain.
  • Drop icon: Locates the user’s location on the map.
  • Measure tool: Measure distances between locations.

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On the old map

The Church of Tornio on the map drawn by Réginald Outhier (Carte du fleuve de Torneå, 1736).

Want a map for yourself? The map is currently sold as a poster (225 mm x 707 mm) in museum shop in Torne Valleys museum (address: Tornionlaakson museo, Torikatu 4, Tornio).


Information

WGS84N 65°50’59” E 24°8’35”
WGS84N 65.8499, E 24.1430
ETRS-TM35FINN 7306154, E 369606
UTM (WGS84)35W 369606.419 7306154.118

No trail.

The Church of Tornio is located in the centre of Tornio on Suensaari at Seminaarinkatu 1.

Across the road from the church, at the intersection of Seminaarinkatu road and Kirkkokatu road, is Maupertuis Park, where you can find the memorial to the degree-measuring expedition.

No trail.

Kaakamavaara32 km
Huitaperi47 km
Nivavaara31 km
(Distance as the crow flies.)

From the 28th of August to 2nd of September 1736.

The 31st of August 1736.“After wandering about so long among the lakes and mountains, Torneo appeared to us another world. Lieutenant-colonel Dariez [Du Rietz] came to see us, and invited us to dine with him; we all of us went on Friday: Messrs. de Cederstrom and Meldercreutz were of the party. The next day these gentlemen accompanied us to the belfry, where we staid all day waiting in vain for an opprtunity to observe our angles. We then regretted the tranquillity of the mountains: we were surrounded by spectators, who incommoded us, and were no ways interested in our observations.”

Réginald Outhier. Journal of a Voyage to the North (Journal d’un voyage au Nord), 1744.

End of August 1736. “While every thing was getting ready for the Voyage of Pello, we went up to the Spire of a Church situated in the Isle of Swentzar (which must not be confounded with the Church of the Finlanders, in the Isle of Biörcköhn, to the soutward of Swentzar) – – -”

Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis. The Figure of the Earth (La Figure de la Terre), 1738.

Designed by Olof Eriksson (1911–1987), the monument was erected in 1971 on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the City of Tornio. The monument is located opposite the church on the other side of Seminaarinkatu.

The upper part of the monument shows a triangulation network. The star refers to the delta star of the Dragon constellation, which was used to measure latitude.

The Maupertuis relief at the bottom of the monument is by French sculptor Gwen Jégou.
The monument was unveiled on 19 June 1971 by the City of Tornio, the French Embassy and Veli Arrela. Arrela was a dedicated bank manager and municipal politician.

1998 on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Maupertuis, the monument and its surroundings were restored and the area was renamed Maupertuis Park.

A memorial to the degree measurement in Maupertuis Park next to the Church of Tornio.

Pictures from the Church of Tornio

The pictures open in large size in the gallery by clicking on the picture.


The expedition on the map

Réginald Outhier has written a detailed description of the expedition’s journey from Paris to Tornio and back. The journey took two months each way and was made by boat and wagon. On the way back, the expedition was in a shipwreck in the Bay of Bothnia.


Measurement points and other destinations