In the southern part of the island, Kirkkoniemi stands out as it is where the 144-meters-high hill Kirkkovuori is located.

[3] In 1683, the people of Pielavesi received permission from the Bishop of Viipuri, Petrus Bång, to build a church.

The site chosen was Kirkkosaari,[4] because it is located near good water connections.

Nowadays, the old churchyard has a bell tower and a monument for those who died during the famine of the 1860s.

A slender, Ostrobothnian-style Renaissance statue was built in 1748 under the direction of Anders Brofall.