Planning an escape game for the old church in Petäjävesi has attracted opposition

/ Tourism

Planning an escape game for the old church in Petäjävesi has attracted opposition

Old wooden church in Petäjävesi.
The old church in Petäjävesi is a masterpiece of log building by the peasants of Central Finland. Photo from summer 2024.

The escape game planned for the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Petäjävesi Church has received a mixed reception in the village.

The aim of the escape game, which is set in the church, is to tell visitors, especially younger ones, about the long history of the wooden church built in the 1700s.

The plans have received a mixed reception in the community and have also sparked protests on social media.

The discussions have raised concerns about whether the design of the game forgets the values of the congregation and the church. There have also been questions about whether the protection of a UNESCO World Heritage building would suffer from the game’s commercialisation.

Concerns are being reassured by the Petäjävesi Old Church Foundation.

Old wooden church in Petäjävesi.
Inside the old church in Petäjävesi, the pews and other fixed furnishings have been well preserved in their original state. The church was built between 1763-65.

The game planned for the church does not seek to escape from a room typical of escape games, but it will be more of a puzzle game that moves in the church and explores its history.

– The implementation becomes very light. There is no permanent room in the church, but the game is such that it can be deployed and cleared away from the church every time you play, says Saarinen.

The game is aimed either at school classes or young adults

The idea of \u200b\u200bthe game inside the Old Church was born in cooperation with the municipality of Petäjävesi and the Old Church Foundation.

– With the municipality of Petäjävesi, we thought we would like to offer people a new way to get to know the old church in Petäjävesi. A way that is different and funny, says Saarinen’s background.

To design the game, we have been contacted at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences (JAMK), whose students have begun to implement the game prototype.

Students have been hoped that the game would be aimed at either school classes or young adults who travel on their own.

– The work has now begun, the goal is to achieve a prototype this semester, which could then be developed for a fully finished game. However, for the coming summer, the game will not be completed.

So far, the project does not move money, as students are planning a game prototype as their thesis.

– If the actual game is decided, of course, there will be costs at that point, says Saarinen.

The Old Church of Petäjävesi was approved by the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994