In English:
Original English text updated in March 2014. In this series there are presented 57 paupers.
These historical wooden Poor-man (pauper) wooden statues are presented in their original surroundings. It is difficult to understand them at first, because man can find them only in Finland and some in Sweden. They are found mainly on the area called Ostrobothnia in Finland. They are part of our cultural heritage and thus being something special. What they are, why man made them, what is their history and how many of them exist? All these questions are replied in my next three posts.
Since I saw the first one nearly ten years ago, I felt sympathy to them. They were so cute, so live looking and well made. Seeing those statues later after years, many of them were in bad condition, I came sad. I saw that time and hard weather had left marks on them. I asked myself if anybody takes care of them, because they needed urgent restoration.
According to the latest calculations there are 145 paupers from which 107 (poor-man statues) + 1 (poor-woman statue) in active service, meaning collecting money to the poor. The rest of them are found in local museums around Finland. Total number of them is calculated to been about 180. In Sweden there are only nine paupers left.
Background:
All this began in 1649 (at that time Finland was under administration of Sweden) when Swedish queen Kristina (1629 – 1689) gave order to make money collection logs. In Europe wars raged around and many soldiers wounded in wars losing foot or arm. When wounded in this way they had to return to their home. These money collection-logs were modified to pauper (poor-man) statues by local artists. They were placed usually beside church doors and on the walls of bell towers. Man built for them small wooden shelter to protect them sun shine, direct rain and snow. In recent years many churches moved them into porches. So, many pauper statues present men missing hand, foot or even ear having models from solders maimed in wars. Man must remember that in the 1700, 1800 and 1900 century people were very poor, but they visited church every Sunday faithfully. I think that these pauper statues were great start for modern help of the poor (social security).
Pauper statues have moneybox in their chest and to put coins into them there is a slot in the chest. In general the Finnish people are honest and this means that there a few robberies against the pauper statues. Robberies have happened, yes indeed. Latest robbery happened in 2013 when the whole pauper statue in Rautio was stolen. It was found after winter in a ditch. The lock and money box were missing, but the statue was in good condition. Also the pauper of Alavieska has been robbed many times. In addition to these robberies, there have been some minor mischiefs like removing hands. Many paupers have beside them a written small phrase. Although the text might slightly differ from others, the main idea is: “he who has mercy on the poor, lends to the Lord”.
My posts go this way: First I present four churches and after photos of every church I show poor man statues with general views and close-ups. Because all pauper statues are presented in their natural environment, You will see also photos from churches, Chandeliers, Pulpits,Altapieces,Altars, Memorialsand Belltowers.
Always I could not visit churches inside, but in many cases yes. Enjoy our cultural heritage!
En español:
Historia de pobres hombres tallada en madera y la estatua estatua de pobrecita mujer.
Hay 107 estatuas de pobre hombres y una estatua de pobrecita mujer.
Al manejar mi carro alrededor en mi país, sacando fotos de las iglesias he encontrado algunas estatuas raras al lado de iglesias o campanarios. Ellos eran hombres o mujeres, y siempre sus mano o el pie había desaparecido, pero de todos modos esos estatues veía bien. Al examinar más de cerca encontré un hueco en ellos. Entonces entendí que se puede poner dinero en el hueco y dentro hay una cajita. ¿Por qué estos cajas / estatuas en madera de pobre hombres mendigos, se han creado, ¿cuándo?
Todo esto empieza en 1649 cuando la reina Cristina de Suecia dio la orden para hacer los leños de los pobres y ponerlos al lado de las puertas de las iglesias, campanarios o algunos lugares públicos. Pronto los leños de los pobres fueron modificados para estatuas de pobre hombre par artistas locales en Finlandia. En ese tiempo Finlandia estaba bajo la administración de Suecia. En Europa guerras devastó todos partes en Europa y muchos soldados heridos mismos perdiendo su pie o el brazo. Cuando heridos de esta manera ellos tuvieron que regresar a su casa.
En el 1700, 1800 y 1900 la gente del siglo era muy pobre, pero ellos visitaron la iglesia todos los domingos fielmente, así el lugar natural para esas estatuas pobres-el hombre estaba fue junto a iglesias o campanarios. Tal vez estas estatuas de pobres hombres ayudó a los más pobres, por supuesto, no existen estadicas.
Este post va de esta manera: Primero presento cuatro iglesias y después las fotos de estatuas pobres hombres.
Estatuas de pobre hombre en este post, obviamente, necesitan algunas reparaciones. Espero que parroquias tienen bastante moneda. En la iglesia de Nurmo il y hay dos cosas que quiero que Ustedes van notarlos. En primer lugar, las estufas que son necesarias para asistir calentamiento general para los inviernos fríos (Nurmo 20, 21 y 22). En segundo lugar, las cortinas pintadas en las paredes Nurmo (11 y 26).
En francais:
Histoire de statues sculptées en bois de pauvre-homme et de pauvre-femme statue.
Il ya 107 statues de pauvre-hommes et une statue pauvre femme.
Lorsque je conduisais autour dans mon pays pour prendre des photos des églises sur la campagne, j’ai trouvé quelques statues particulières à côté des églises ou des campaniles. Ils étaient des hommes ou des femmes et dont toujours la main ou le pied les manquait, mais de toute façon ces statues avaient l’air si bien. Lorsque en examinant les de plus près, j’ai trouvé une fente. Puis j’ai réalisé que l’on peut mettre des pièces à l’intérieur dans la fente du bûche. Pourquoi ces pauvres bûches / pauvre-homme de bois / bois statues mendiants ont été mis en place, quand?
Tout cela commence 1649 quand Christine de Suède a donné l’ordre de faire les pauvres bûches et de les mettre à côté des portes d’église, clochers ou de certains lieux publics. Bientôt ces pauvres bûches ont été modifiés pour homme pauvres statues par des artistes locaux en Finlande. En ce moment la Finlande était sous l’administration de la Suède. Les guerres faisaient rage autour de l’Europe et nombreux soldats blessés ont perdu le pied ou le bras. Lorsque blessés de cette façon ils devaient retourner à leur domicile.
Dans les années 1700, 1800 et 1900 les gens était très pauvres, mais ils ont visité l’église chaque dimanche fidèlement, de sorte que, le lieu naturel pour ces statues de pauvres-hommes était à côté des églises ou des campaniles. Peut-être ces statues de pauvres-hommes ont aidé les plus pauvres, mais des statistiques, ils existent pas bien sûr.
Mon poste va dans cette façon: Premièrement je présente quatre églises et puis et à la fin les photos de statues de pauvre hommes.
Statues de Pauvre Homme dans ce message bien évidemment besoin de quelques réparations. J’espère qu’il y aura suficientemente de l’argent dans les congrégations pour faire les restaurations. Dans l’église de Nurmo, il ya deux choses que je veux Vous faire remarquer. Tout d’abord, les poêles qui sont nécessaires pour aider le chauffage général pour les hivers froids (Nurmo 20, 21 et 22). Deuxièmement, rideaux peints sur les murs Nurmo (11 et 26).
Alavieska (photos / fotos 2012):
Church built 1948 / Iglesia construida 1948 / Église construite 1948
Belltower built ? / Campanario construido ? / Clocher construit ?
Height of Poor-man statue 155cm (5 feet and 1.0 inches) / Altura de estatua de pobre hombre 155cm / Hauteur de statue de pauvre Homme 155cm. Statue from ? / Estatua del año ? / Statue ?
Nurmo (photos / fotos 2012):
Church built 1779/ Iglesia construida 1779/ Église construite 1779.
Belltower built 1770 / Campanario construido 1770, / Clocher construite 1770. Height of Poor-man statue 134 (4 feet and 4.8 inches)) / Altura de estatua de pobre hombre 134 / Hauteur de statue de pauvre Homme 134. Statue from 1840s / Estatua del años 1840/ Statue de les ans 1840.
Perho (photos / fotos 2012):
Church built 1903 / Iglesia construida 1903 / Église construite 1903
Belltower built 1799 / Campanario construido 1799/ Clocher construite1799
Height of Poor-man statue 167cm (5 feet and 5.8 inches) / Altura de estatua de pobre hombre167 cm / Hauteur de statue de pauvre Homme 167cm. Statue from 1840s / Estatua del años 1840/ Statue des ans 1840.
Purmo(photos / fotos 2012):
Church built 1772/ Iglesia construida 1772/ Église construite 1772
Belltower built 1775 / Campanario construido 1775 / Clocher construite 1775
Height of Poor-man statue 120cm (4 feet and 0inches) / Altura de estatua de pobre hombre 120cm / Hauteur de statue de pauvre Hommer 120cm. Statue from 1845 / Estatua de 1845 / Statue de 1845.
Poor-man statues 11 / Estatuas de pobre hombre 11 / Statues de Pauvre Homme 11
Poor-man statues 13 / Estatuas de pobre hombre 13 / Statues de Pauvre Homme 13
Another set of amazing photos. Thank you, dear Matti. Your photographs really are quite special. Bless you.
Comment by LizzieJoy — March 22, 2013 @ 10:00 |
Hi Lizzie.
Thank You for Your kind comment and liking my photos. Many times it was raining during those three days when I shot these photos. To hold an umbrella in one hand and to photograph heavy camera with its lens in another hand was not so easy, but finally I succeed obviously.
Have a wonderful day!
Comment by Sartenada — March 22, 2013 @ 10:54 |
Thank you, Matti. You have a wonderful day too. Bless you.
Comment by LizzieJoy — March 22, 2013 @ 10:58 |
bonjour tes photos sont superbes et les vitraux magnifiques j’ai beaucoup aimé ton article bisous MA
Comment by AUDOLY-NOURIAN — March 22, 2013 @ 10:02 |
Bonjour MA.
Je te remercie de ton visit et de ta remarque si aimable. C’était agréable de lire ce que tu aimes mes photos. Merci beaucoup.
Belle journée.
Comment by Sartenada — March 22, 2013 @ 11:03 |
These pictures are so beautiful. The curtains look very realistic too. I hope the statues are kept in good condition. Thank you for this wonderful series!
Comment by megtraveling — March 22, 2013 @ 13:40 |
Hi Megtraveling.
Thank You. It was many years ago when I saw in one church painted curtains. At first I did not realized that they are painted, but after taking a closer look at them, I realized the truth.
Have a lovely day!
Comment by Sartenada — March 22, 2013 @ 13:59 |
Your post is so interesting! And your photos are unique!
Comment by 76sanfermo — March 22, 2013 @ 15:11 |
Hello Anna.
Thank You for Your visit and leaving Your comment. I am really happy when reading that my photos please to You.
Have a wonderful day!
Comment by Sartenada — March 22, 2013 @ 15:20 |
Can you translate what the plate (1939-1944) says underneath the man kneeling/praying?
Comment by Mary Gilmartin — March 22, 2013 @ 15:25 |
Hello Mary.
Thank You asking for this translation. Because it is a form of poem, it was not so easy. It goes in this way:
Victims of brothers of clouds, of big war, rest here. Here where our Lord of Heaven is seeing them. His glory of the gold, cheap is land of Perho.
Perho is the name of this place. I hope that You understand it.
Have a great day!
Comment by Sartenada — March 22, 2013 @ 15:42 |
Yes, I understand it and thank you. It looks like a beautiful memorial garden. Have a great weekend.
Comment by Mary Gilmartin — March 22, 2013 @ 16:32 |
The painted curtains in the church at Nurmo were indeed interesting. I don’t recall seeing anything quite like that before. The church at Perho is beautiful. I hope all of these statues can be restored and saved.
Comment by seniorhiker — March 22, 2013 @ 15:57 |
Hello George.
Very kind comment. Thank You.
Have a great week-end!
Comment by Sartenada — March 23, 2013 @ 12:13 |
This is very unique. We have nothing like this – at least not in western Canada – that I’m aware of.
Comment by wordsfromanneli — March 22, 2013 @ 16:27 |
Hi Anneli.
I am happy for Your visit and comment. Thank You.
Have lovely week-end!
Comment by Sartenada — March 23, 2013 @ 12:15 |
Another very beautiful characterization of the uniqueness of Finland!
Comment by tiny lessons blog — March 22, 2013 @ 17:37 |
Hello Tiny lessons blog.
Thank You commenting my post. It made me very happy that appreciate these statues which are unique.
Have a wonderful week-end!
Comment by Sartenada — March 23, 2013 @ 12:19 |
Un article très intéressant et de très belles photos! Les vitraux sont très beaux et j’aime beaucoup l’architecture de l’église.
A bientôt!
Comment by Anne d'Amico — March 22, 2013 @ 17:40 |
Coucou Anne.
Tu m’as fait heureux en commentant sur mon blog. Merci beaucoup.
Bon week-end. Bisous.
Comment by Sartenada — March 23, 2013 @ 12:23 |
Very lovely photos! However, I don’t know what the metal object is in this photo.
Comment by Deb Platt — March 23, 2013 @ 01:12 |
Hello Deb.
Thank You for Your visit, comments and question. It is stove, heater. Churches are big and in winter they need additional heaters. First time I presented heater which is used in the
World’s biggest wooden church.
Happy week-end!
Comment by Sartenada — March 23, 2013 @ 12:12 |
Your photos are fascinating, Matti! It is so interesting to see the churches and their grounds! They really convey a sense of history.
Comment by montucky — March 23, 2013 @ 04:39 |
Hi Terry.
Thank You for Your kind comment and following my series. There are yet three more posts in this series and after them I’ll start with one winter post showing how the Arctic Circle was in February.
Have a nice week-end!
Comment by Sartenada — March 23, 2013 @ 12:40 |
Very beautiful as usual – thanks for sharing! I love to see your corner of the globe! 🙂
Comment by basildonkitchens — March 23, 2013 @ 14:51 |
Hi Connie.
So nice to see You around here on my blog. I also find blogs interesting. Sometimes they give information which not available in travel books. Photos in blogs fulfill the lack of “praising” texts of travel books and thus give finally to the visitor a window how our corner is, where ever it is, looking like. Thank You leaving Your nice comment.
Happy Sunday!
Comment by Sartenada — March 24, 2013 @ 09:00 |
Your country just touches my heart. The exquisite maintenance of it’s churches shows the caring of the people who worship there. The beautiful heartfelt artwork that tells the story of the past. The act of generosity for their fellow soldiers tells much about a caring people. I would love to visit your country one day. Thank you for the great post.
Comment by kareninhonolulu — March 23, 2013 @ 21:23 |
Hello Karen.
Oh, I am mute when reading Your praising comment. You are welcome! Our capital Helsinki is beautiful in summer, but it does not represent the rest of Finland. We have all modern connections between different places, buses, trains and flight connections. If You come, then visit the Arctic Circle nearby the town of Rovaniemi. After this series, I show how beautiful it was in February. Here are my summer photos from 2012:
Arctic Circle
Although it was raining, bad luck, the place is worth for a visit. If You some day realize Your idea, do not hesitate to ask me for best places and views.
Maybe to make a cruise on one of our 187888 lakes on board of a steam ship would be unforgettable; I am sure. Those steam ships are old. In my post
Midsummer cruise
the steamship S/S Suomi was built in 1906. Think about that.
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Comment by Sartenada — March 24, 2013 @ 09:36 |
Thank you so much, Yes it should be something I would like to do in the future if ever I can.
Comment by kareninhonolulu — March 27, 2013 @ 23:23 |
Hi Karen.
Thank You. I am happy that You visited on this post and took a look at it.
Happy Thursday!
Comment by Sartenada — March 28, 2013 @ 08:02 |
I love the shot of the stained glass window with the angel playing the harp (of course!) These were very interesting churches. And the poor men and woman look particularly entreating. Thanks for another delightful trip, Matti!
Comment by Heart To Harp — March 24, 2013 @ 23:28 |
Hi Janet.
Thank You again commenting and following my series. I expected that You will notice the angel playing the harp, so nice.
Have great day!
Comment by Sartenada — March 26, 2013 @ 07:58 |
Such lovely and interesting photos and I love the colours. Are the churches all made of wood and do you how many there are, they are just so different from our stone churches. Thank you for sharing them.
Comment by blosslyn — March 24, 2013 @ 23:50 |
Hello Lynne.
There are 830 churches. In this number there are not included chapels prayer rooms and churches in wilderness camp centers. Distribution between stone and wood churches, I could not find. Where are most interesting churches? I give here my opinion, not official, on our countryside. I agree that many cathedrals are beautiful, historic etc, I love wood churches.
The architecture and design varies on which are situated and when they are built. What has been “greatest enemies” of our churches? Answer is fires. On some locations there have been three churches before the newest. Reasons to fires are generally lightings and heating system.
I give here link to two different churches. They are not so glorious but different indeed.
Here is stone church which I love:
Medieval church of Tenhola.
Here is wood church which is the Unesco world inheritance catalogue. Also my favorite:
Old church of Petajavesi.
I think that one interesting thing is from the churches separated bell towers. When I started to shoot photos from churches, they impressed me great. They are colorful, mighty looking and they are situated on countryside only.
Here are some of them:
Bell towers in Finland.
Thank You for Your interest asking question and having interest in our churches.
Have a lovely day!
Comment by Sartenada — March 26, 2013 @ 08:35 |
Hello, Rain makes the streets beautiful and colors saturated although a challenge to shoot in. I love the triangle roof. I agree with the comment how the statues reflect your country’s caring for your soldiers and less fortunate. Well done!
Comment by Bondseye — March 25, 2013 @ 03:31 |
Hello Lisa.
Thank You for Your so kind comment and following my series.
Have a great day!
Comment by Sartenada — March 26, 2013 @ 08:51 |
Great photos and an interesting blog post. Glad I found it!
Comment by LondonUnveiled.com — March 25, 2013 @ 16:14 |
Hello Ian.
What a great joy to read that You loved my photos did find my blog interesting. Thank You.
Happy Tuesday!
Comment by Sartenada — March 26, 2013 @ 08:56 |
Really nice blog and photos, I love the way they cared for their soldiers…..
Comment by daniellajoe — April 2, 2013 @ 01:12 |
Hello Patricia.
Thank You commenting so nicely my post. I really appreciate it.
Have a great day!
Comment by Sartenada — April 2, 2013 @ 07:16 |
Thank you so much for your website! I’ve been looking for a photo of the wooden church in Purmo, Finland, that was built in 1772 by A. Hakola. This is where my ancestors are from and I believe your photo of the church in Purmo is the one they would have attended in the 17-1800’s. I love the explanation of the Poor Man Statues ~ what an addition to the story!
Thank you a million times!!!!
char 🙂
Comment by Char Adams — February 11, 2014 @ 03:26 |
Hello Char.
How glad I am when reading Your very kind and interesting comment. Thank You. I hope that someday You could visit there.
Have a nice day!
Comment by Sartenada — February 11, 2014 @ 08:43 |
So interesting!! Beautiful photos! Nurmo church is where my parents married 🙂
Comment by Miia — November 14, 2014 @ 17:15 |