It was inscribed in 1994 on the UNESCO World Heritage List for its testimony to the wooden church architecture of the Nordic countries.

[citation needed] The church was built as the chapel for the area of Petäjävesi, which has belonged to the congregation of Jämsä.

The pulpit, pews, galleries, and chandeliers were all hand-carved by local craftsmen from pine wood.

In the 1920s a Polish-Austrian art historian Josef Strzygowski noticed the architectural and historical value of the church and since 1929 it has been restored several times.

[2] In 1994 it was approved in the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites representing typical eastern Scandinavian wooden church tradition.