The church in the parish of Jomala is dedicated to Saint Olaf. He was the former king of Norway, earlier known as Olaf II. It is a for the Åland Islands traditional church built with red granite stones. It is likely that it is the oldest of the stone churches on the islands. The Church of St. Olaf is today a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and it is also the center for the Jomala Parish.
One of the interesting things about the Åland Islands is the amount churches. Although the islands are not big, there are 16 municipalities, and all of them have at least one church. The church stands next to a grave field from the Iron Age and nowadays it is in the center of Jomala, the second-largest municipality on the islands.
Church of St. Olaf in Jomala
The inauguration of the Jomala Church took place in the 13th century. It is a stone church built with red granite. This stone type is very typical for the islands. The current shape comes from re-constructions in the 1830s and 1880s. The changes included the move from a rectangular shape to a “T”-shape. It is believed that the church was quite unchanged from the 13th century until the 19th. The remodeling of the church in the 19th century also saw the loss of several pieces of art and other historical parts. A few of the preserved artifacts are estimated to date back to the 13th century.
Finding Your Way
Jomala Church, or the Church of St. Olaf, is not far from road 2, only a short drive north from Mariehamn.
If you want to learn more about Jomala’s Church of St. Olaf, we can recommend you to have a look at kyrkor.ax >>
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My great grandparents lived in Jomal Kingso. Last name Sjolund. How do I locate the church in the area?
Hello Janice, could it be Jomala Kungsö? Then it should be the former parish of this church that most likely covers that area. There was a Johan Johansson Sjölund, born 1826 that lived at Kungsö in the 1880s with his wife and two kids. There was also his son Johan Emil Sjölund, born in 1849 that lived here with his wife and seven kids.