The excessively large church was built deliberately according to original plans of local residents. At a time when the church was being built, in the parish Kerimäki were 12,000 residents and pastor thought that at least half of them should be in the church on Sundays. However there are also some other theories that the architect made a project in inches and builder worked with centimetres, and thus built 2.54 times larger church.

Believers went to Kerimäki church from the entire region, across the lake they used the kirkkovene (church long ship).

This stunning white-ocher church will stun you already from the outside, but you cannot realize its size as much until you get inside and see its vast interior – the height of the nave is 27 meters. You’ll soon understand that it must have been impossible to heat the building. Originally there were eight stoves inside (now there are four), but it was still not enough, and thus they had to built a smaller, winter chapel for 300 people.

You can take part in the liturgy that is still held here in the main church in summer.

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Roussillon is considered one of the most beautiful villages of France. Thanks to the nearby ocher mines, which are a major tourist attraction, has the whole village a reddish colour. Also, the local soil has all the shades of red, ranging from beige to dark red. It used to be mined 17 different colors of ocher – purple, red, orange, yellow, and many others. The history of this site dates back to 230 million years ago, when all the area of Provence was under the sea. The sand at the bottom contained iron, which later oxidized, and such created the ocher.

Already the ancient Romans used it to produce glazes on pottery. In 18th century the local residents found out how to adjust the pigment to be resistant to water. With this discovery, a new industry of colors began. Such colors could be used not only for surface treatment of ceramic products, but also in painting houses. The production of colours decreased in 50′s of 20th century. Nowadays, the ocher is not mining any more and this pigment is produced artificially. The village, however, maintain the original color, and together with its surrounding it is a protected area.

In the village you can walk through the narrow and steep streets that are lined with houses with beautiful red-colored facades, houses the souvenir shops. The beautiful village of Roussillon is unfortunately flooded with crowds in the summer, so if you want to enjoy its unique atmosphere, it is good to visit in a spring or autumn.

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