Would you go on a church pilgrimage?

The Sastamala Church Pilgrimage is about a 40-kilometre journey from the Karkku locality to Sastamala town centre in Vammala and onward to Keikyä on the other side of Sastamala. The first section, about 20 km long, follows village roads near Lake Rautavesi and passes through the churches of Karkku, Sastamala’s Church of Saint Mary and Tyrvää’s Church of Saint Olaf to Tyrvää Church beside the Vammaskoski bridge. From there the route continues via Kiikka to Keikyä, where there are two churches and other sights along the way. 

From the pilgrimage starting point, Wanha Harsu — the Good Shepherd guesthouse, Maakunnantie 17 — you can obtain for a small fee a route guide, a water bottle and rye bread, as well as prayer cards for each church separately.

The trail runs along the Pori–Tampere railway, so you can also reach the area by train, which stops at both Karkku and Vammala stations. You can leave your car in Karkku if necessary, and return there easily by train after the pilgrimage.

During the summer, there are café services near the medieval churches along the route. Next to Vammala railway station is the Liekoranta coaching inn, whose restaurant and café are open for groups by reservation.

More information about the church pilgrimage on Wanha Harsu’s website

Open the pilgrimage brochure and map here

Sastamala church pilgrimage on the Lipas service and downloadable GPX map