Photos of Bönehuset Chapel
About Bönehuset Chapel
Bönehuset is a small stone chapel on Utö Island sitting at the east edge of the village. Islanders built it in 1909 because the original church was on the third floor of the lighthouse and the winding stairs were too much for some of the villagers. It's a quaint stone building with a single room inside and classic wooden pews down each side. The altar is at the east end, and instead of a painting behind it there is a window that looks straight out over the rocks out to the Baltic Sea. On the altar stands a ten-branched candlestick carrying the names of ten American sailors lost off the island in the 1947 Park Victory wreck. Behind the chapel a meadow spreads leads you to the small walled cemetery and from the chapel door you can see the lighthouse on the rise to the west. For photos you can shoot down the aisle straight from the door so the pews lead to the window and the sea fills the altar's window. Morning sun comes straight through that window and darkens the room, so you'll have to decide between exposing for the outside or inside. If you are here in the afternoon the light moves around to the door side of the church. A grey day is easier. The doors are kept open and there's no fee to access the interior or church grounds. The island is only accessible by ferry from Pärnäs and everything is on foot once you land. (Utö, Southwest Finland, Finland)
Photo Tips and Community Notes
Be the first to add one
