Valtimo Lutheran Church

The magnificent wooden church in Valtimo was completed as early as 1901. The church was officially inaugurated in August 1907. The church was founded on the crown site of the Valtimo church village on the top of the ridge, from where the beautiful church tower could be seen far away. The church underwent a thorough renovation in 1931, and the same interior design has remained to this day.

As with other attractions in the area, there have been many intriguing stories attached to the church. According to one of them, the local people of the village once wanted to establish a new church in Valtimo rather than fund a new brick church in Nurmes, which would replace the church that burned down in 1891. The founding of the Valtimo church was confirmed a couple of years later in September 1894, and the church finally became independent of Nurmes in 1908. The first priest of the village was Verneri Louhivuori, who took office in 1909.