Kuusamo’s church bells

The two bells of the Kuusamo church have a long history. The larger bell – the King’s Bell – was donated by King Charles XI, who ruled Sweden from 1666 to 1697. The side of the clock has decorative oak leaf friezes and a Swedish text on the edge, which reads:

This clock has his most blessed Royal Majesty, the forever remembered, the most powerful King Charles the Eleventh, donated to the parish of Kuusamo Lapland.

In addition, the clock has the text Soli Deo Gloria anno 1698 (Glory to God alone in 1698) in Latin.

The bells of the King and the Priest are tolling in Kuusamo

The bells are used to toll for the deceased people of Kuusamo – the King’s Bell for men and the Priest’s Bell for women.
The bells’ disappearance

The Kuusamo church bells mysteriously disappeared at the end of the war in 1944.
The search for the bells

The bells were believed to have been lost to the Russians. However, the search for the church bells began on Wednesday, July 15th.
The bells are found

The gravedigger Kurvinen’s rod also met metal, which at first felt like stone, only a few tens of centimetres deep.

Kuusamo’s church bells

Kuusamon seurakunnan muut historiasivut

Hallinto ja toimihenkilöt

Kirkkoherrat

Perustaminen

Seurakunnan alue

Seurakunnan kirkot

Seurakunta 1800- ja 1900-luvuilla