Finlayson Church

In the mid-19th century, Tampere had only one church, while the city was growing rapidly as a result of industrialisation. In the 1840s, the Finlayson cotton mill employed around a quarter of the city’s population. Including employees’ families, a large proportion of Tampere’s residents lived within the sphere of the factory community.

In 1846, the factory was granted the right to employ its own pastor, known as the factory chaplain, particularly to provide worship in Finnish. In 1879, a red-brick prayer house was completed near the factory gate, at the corner of Puuvillatehtaankatu and Kuninkaankatu.

The factory chaplain was responsible for the spiritual life of the factory community until 1880. After the position was discontinued, pastors from Tampere continued to conduct services and other events at Finlayson Church alongside their other duties.

For more than a century, the Finlayson company maintained the church together with the parishes. Memorial wreaths made by factory workers and displayed on the walls of the worship space reflect their respect for Wilhelm von Nottbeck and his family.

On 30 December 1981, Oy Finlayson Ab donated the church and its site to the Evangelical Lutheran parishes of Tampere. One condition of the transfer was that the building would continue to be called Finlayson Church.

Because the building had originally been a prayer house, it had never been formally consecrated as a church. On Tampere Day, 28 September 2009, Bishop of Tampere Matti Repo formally consecrated the building as a church.

Finlayson Church underwent a major renovation in 2007–2009. The original inscriptions on the chancel arches were uncovered, and the floor was renewed using Omberg limestone containing visible fossils.

Additional facilities were created in a residential building constructed on the neighbouring site, and sacristy facilities were added to the church. The new facilities were connected to the church by a glass corridor.